Exploring the design space of shape-changing objects

Abstract

In this paper we describe the outcomes from a design exercise in which eight groups of designers designed and built hardware sketches in the form of playful shapechanging prototypes, generatively working with Rasmussen et al's [31] eight unique types of shape change. Seeing that shape-changing interfaces is a growing area in HCI design research and that authors often shy away from articulating the special qualities brought to a design by using changing shape to communicate information, we set out to explore shape changing interfaces through a series of sketching experiments through the support of Danish toy company. Eight design groups redesigned existing tumbling objects for children using electronic sensors and actuators guided only by the request to adhere to the client's design goal to inspire imagination and movement in users. The main contributions of the paper include indications for the further expansion of the design space of shape changing interfaces relating to the perception and understanding of behaviour, causality and the mechanics involved in shape change events, which we call "Imagined Physics." This concept is described along with additional insights into the qualities of shape changing interfaces coined in recent research in the field.

WiBend: Wi-Fi for Sensing Passive Deformable Surfaces

“…Deformable user interfaces take advantage of the physical deformation of an object as a form of input or output [18,24].…”

Morphees+

“…Other words such as "deformable" [3,23,55,54,57], "malleable" [10,13,32], or "shape-changing" [4,10,35,43,46,56,58] have also been used to describe this concept. These words convey a change in shape, which means that there is an initial shape A and a final shape B.…”

“…They identify eight shape change taxonomy features with both topological and non-topological equivalent views, which has inspired other research on the design of features. Nørgaard et al [35] presented eight interactive shape-changing toys implementing some of the features. They also analyze the toys to refine interaction properties of shape-changing interfaces.…”

“…Shape-changing interface taxonomies [4,43,46] help describe the reconfigurability of interfaces and can be used to design new interfaces [26,35,44,52]. To date, there has been little effort to unify and strengthen these taxonomies despite shape changing interfaces continuously evolving.…”

Kinetic wave

“…The strength of the wireless communication is represented through the height of the waves and the speed of movement, making distant communication appear calm, and close communication more rapid and spontaneous. Combined, this may give the perception of electromagnetic waves putting the rings in motion, corresponding to an imagined law of physics [2]. The unanticipated motion of the rings seeks to draw the attention of users nearby, giving rise to reflection upon the correlation between users' actions and the sudden motion of the rings.…”