Improving bend gesture accuracy using simulated tactile properties

Bend gestures on flexible devices allow users to provide subtle and continuous input to a computing device by bending a corner or a side of the device in question. The depth of bend can be used to control, for example, the speed at which the user scrolls through a document. This kind of input could be made more precise through the incorporation of tactile, or touchbased, feedback. By embedding a flexible device with vibrating elements, we will be able to simulate the properties of real-life materials. As the user performs a bend gesture, the device makes subtle ‘click’ sensations, like a volume knob on a stereo. By being able to feel the degree of bend they are performing, I predict that users will be able to use bend gestures with increased accuracy. Through this project I seek to determine the effect that tactile feedback has on bend gesture accuracy. It is also exploratory research, looking to ways this type of feedback can be used to expand the vocabulary of bend gesture input.

Faculty Supervisor:

Audrey Girouard

Student:

Nicholas Fellion

Partner:

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

University:

Carleton University

Program:

Globalink Research Award