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BYO*: Utilizing 3D Printed Tangible Tools for Interaction on Interactive Surfaces

Sebastian Günther, Martin Schmitz, Florian Müller, Jan Riemann, Max Mühlhäuser
SmartObjects 2017
Proceedings of the 2017 ACM Workshop on Interacting with Smart Objects
PDF DOI
TL;DR
What we did: We designed and built two interaction concepts, Bring Your Own Information and Bring Your Own Tool, utilizing 3D printed tangible objects for enhanced interaction on touch-enabled surfaces.
What we found: We found that our system enables seamless sharing and manipulation of digital content across various devices through customizable, low-cost tangible objects without additional hardware.
Takeaway: Our approach enhances collaborative interactions in multi-device environments, addressing common limitations associated with data sharing and haptic feedback in digital content manipulation.

Abstract

Sharing and manipulating information are essential for collaborative work in meeting scenarios. Nowadays, people tend to bring their own devices as a result of increasing mobility possibilities. However, transferring data from one device to another can be cumbersome and tedious if restrictions like different platforms, form factors or environmental limitations apply. In this paper, we present two concepts to enrich interaction on and between devices through 3D printed customized tangibles: 1) Bring your own information, and 2) bring your own tools. For this, we enable interactivity for low-cost and passive tangible 3D printed objects by adding conductive material and make use of touch-enabled surfaces. Our system allows users to easily share digital contents across various devices and to manipulate them with individually designed tools without additional hardware required. Copyright © 2017 ACM.