SideSight: Multi-touch Interaction Around Small Devices (UIST-2008)

SideSight: Multi-touch Interaction Around Small Devices (UIST-2008)

By: Alex Butler, Shahram Izadi, Steve Hodges

Summary:
There are many problems that can occur when trying to interact with small devices (such as mobile phones) that have small screen real estate to interact with. Fingers can occlude the screen and make them hard to use, and hard to see everything that is needed. For many small devices using a touch screen display is completely impractical and almost impossible. This paper talks about a prototype device which uses infra-red proximity sensors embedded along the side of a device that can detect movement and distance of finger movements. This gives the device a larger input area. One area of research that is been posed to solve this problem is the stylus, but it also brings in its own problems (another object to use and possibility to be lost).

The SideSight prototype works by first thresholding the image that is being used and then carrying out a connect component analysis. It was discovered that many times when people are interacting with one finger the other fingers also get in the way of what the user is trying to do. They are currently experimenting on ways to make the device track the input of multiple fingers for greater flexibility with the interaction. In conclusion, it has been shown that the input area of a device can be extended outside of its physical area and can sometimes be a more intuitive way to interact with the device because of increased utility.

Discussion:
I think this is a very important area of study for us to continue to look into because this is something that is a constant problem in society. Cell phones and music players keep getting smaller and smaller which is leading to these increased functionality and ease of use with their interactions. Furthermore, users are getting more acclimated to increased functionality and are demanding more features that are easier to use. Any area of research that goes into this topic is highly important to our technological future.