This paper presents DynamicSkin, a bio-inspired scaled sleeve that offers body heat regulation for the wearer while serving as a channel for self-expression and making a fashion statement. We present the design process and system design enabling the dynamic scaled sleeve, exploring the meaning of unobtrusive wearable technology and beautification of features that are often chosen to be hidden instead. This research aims to advance body crafts by exploring a wearable that benefits the human body while providing ample aesthetic value for the user.
Research has been conducted on attaching a robotic arm to a human body and using it as a supernumerary limb. However, it remains unclear what type of behaviors contribute to the induction of embodiment in a supernumerary limb. In this study, we created a virtual environment where we could observe behaviors that contribute to the embodiment of avatars and tools, such as ”looking at one’s own body in a mirror,” ”moving the supernumerary limb quickly and accurately,” and ”paying constant attention to the supernumerary limb,” and verified whether these behaviors are also effective in inducing the embodiment of the supernumerary limb. After spending 40 min in a behavior observation space, the left hand, the side with the supernumerary limb, was used significantly less frequently. In addition to these behaviors, ”self-touching,” ”transferring objects between their own hand and the supernumerary limb,” and ”whole-body movement” were also observed. The observations suggest that these behaviors may change the awareness of the supernumerary limb and contribute to the improvement of its embodiment.
In this study, we propose a dynamic facial expression augmentation method that enables easy prototyping of masks for performance. The proposed method uses thermochromic ink, i.e., ink that changes color in response to change in temperature. We also propose a mechanism that allows the wearer to perceive the change in the color of the part of the mask drawn with thermochromic ink, by using the residual heat of the thermochromic ink. During performance, the wearer can check whether the mask is working without any trouble and without looking in a mirror and can therefore concentrate on the performance. We assume that a typical use of the system is in a theatrical performance such as a school play, where the performers make masks by hand in order to reproduce the characters in the story. The method is evaluated from four perspectives (cost, support for performance, diversity of expression, and change perception).
On-skin electronics are an emerging group of interactive devices, with challenges in both engineering functionalities and design aesthetics. One design approach that lacks extensive exploration is combining prosthetic makeup with transformative wearables that generate dynamic output modalities. We propose a design approach called Morphace that imbues prosthetic makeup with customizability and transformative properties, which allows wearables to ‘camouflage’ on the original face and transform it. We use a case study on the face for its rich affordance of expressions and high visibility, which emphasizes the appearance of epidermal electronics. We developed a three-step computational design and fabrication workflow that integrates the prosthetic makeup process to fabricate functional primitives. We further explore the utility of Morphace through interactive experiences in social communication, facial augmentation, and self-expression. We believe Morphace offers an integrative approach that enriches current wearable solutions and enables creative output modalities and affordances for designing future on-skin shape-changing interfaces.
As it can take up to several months for recognizable skin improvement, it is difficult to realize the improvement of a skin condition in daily skin care. In this study, with the aim of making it easier to realize the improvement in skin condition and obtain motivating effect of skin care, we developed a system to enhance tactile sensitivity to skin conditions. We used the stochastic resonance to enhance tactile sensitivity to roughness by short-time exposure of minute white-noise vibrations to the fingertips. Additionally, we found that the use of this system in actual skin care routine helped the users to feel the improvement in their skin and improved their motivation.
We present E-MASK, a mask-shaped interface for silent speech interaction. As face masks have become daily accessories since the COVID-19 pandemic, it is reasonable to utilize a mask as a wearable interface. Unlike conventional speech recognition, we envision that silent speech interaction allows users to access digital services even in crowded public spaces. With flexible and highly sensitive strain sensors, E-MASK presents a new measurement principle for silent speech interactions. We built a dataset of sensor patterns corresponding to 21 fundamental commands of Alexa’s operation. All commands were silently spoken by five non-native English speakers. The dataset was used to estimate the silently spoken commands. Estimation accuracies of 84.4% while sitting on a chair and 79.1% while walking on a treadmill were archived. This result suggests that our system provides seamless interaction with digital devices in various situations in daily life, such as walking in a crowd.
We propose a concept called “JIZAI Body” that allows each person to live the way they wish to live in society. One who acquires a JIZAI Body can (simultaneously) control (or delegate control) of their natural body and extensions of it, both in physical and cyberspace. We begin by describing the JIZAI Body and the associated JIZAI state in more detail. We then provide a review of the literature, focusing on human augmentation and cybernetics, robotics and virtual reality, neuro and cognitive sciences, and the humanities; fields which are necessary for the conception, design, and understanding of the JIZAI Body. We then illustrate the five key aspects of a JIZAI Body through existing works. Finally, we present a series of example scenarios to suggest what a JIZAI society may look like. Overall, we present the JIZAI Body as a preferred state to aspire towards when developing and designing augmented humans.
We propose Parallel Ping-Ping, a system that realizes "Parallel Embodiment", the experience of a single user controlling multiple bodies simultaneously. The user plays ping-pong by controlling 2 robot arms using a Virtual Reality (VR) controller, while looking at 2 tables through a Head Mounted Display (HMD). The computer constantly calculates the ball trajectory and the motion for the robot arm to hit the balls back automatically through color cameras. Based on this calculation, the system integrates the motion of the user's controller, maintaining the sense of agency of the robot arms even though single user plays ping-pong with two opponents. In addition, the user's view through the HMD is automatically switched to the appropriate table according to the calculated position and direction, so that the user can perceive both tables' situation smoothly. We exhibited a three-day Parallel Ping-Pong demonstration and surveyed 142 participants about their perception while controlling multiple bodies. In this paper, we introduce the Parallel Ping-Pong system framework and the insights from the survey of demonstration. We also discuss the design implication for Parallel Embodiment based on these results.
We are constantly exposed to mental stress in our daily lives, especially under the COVID-19 pandemic. To cope with this issue, we developed StressMincer, an interactive system that combines two stress-relieving factors: expression of negative emotion and destruction. The users obtain catharsis effect by putting negative emotions into words, and a force feedback mechanism enables users to destroy these words by their actions. Three different destructive experiences were developed; shredding, burning by flamethrower, and flushing with toilet water.
This paper discusses the design of the Singing Knit, a wearable knit collar for measuring a singer’s vocal interactions through surface electromyography. We improve the ease and comfort of multi-electrode bio-sensing systems by adapting knit e-textile methods. The goal of the design was to preserve the capabilities of rigid electrode sensing while addressing its shortcomings, focusing on comfort and reliability during extended wear, practicality and convenience for performance settings, and aesthetic value. We use conductive, silver-plated nylon jersey fabric electrodes in a full rib knit accessory for sensing laryngeal muscular activation. We discuss the iterative design and the material decision-making process as a method for building integrated soft-sensing wearable systems for similar settings. Additionally, we discuss how the design choices through the construction process reflect its use in a musical performance context.
In this paper, we discussed a Long-distance relationship (LDR) design system for subtle emotional communication. In-the-wild user studies with qualitative interviews were conducted. The results suggest that slowness, content-less, limitation, and ambiguity that are elements often less considered in interaction design, actually are valuable for creating the sense of awareness and companionship between LDR groups.
The skin, as the largest organ distributed all over the human body, offers excellent opportunities for different kinds of input stimuli. However, most of the haptic devices can only render single sensations or they need to combine multiple complex components for generating multiple sensations. We present “DragTapVib” in this paper, a novel, ultra-low-cost, wearable actuator that can reliably provide dragging, tapping, and vibrating sensations to the user. Our actuator is fully electromagnetically-actuated with a moving tactor that can render three haptic feedbacks through systematically controlling the current inside the flexible PCBs. The actuator can be arranged with varying parts of the body which enriches the potentials to implement promising application scenarios including delivering the notification and providing immersive haptic feedback either in virtual reality or in gameplay. A prototypical technical evaluation demonstrated the mechanical properties of our actuator. We quantitatively conducted a series of psychophysical user studies (N= 12) to reveal the feasibility of our prototype. The overall absolute identification study for distinguishing three sensations accuracy at two body locations reached up to 97.2%.
Visual-tactile synchronization or visual-motor synchronization makes a not innate body feel as if it was one’s own body (illusory body ownership). Although recent studies have shown that body ownership can be induced in multiple bodies, it is unclear whether the body ownership is switched between bodies, or we feel that multiple bodies belong to us simultaneously. If the body ownership is induced in multiple bodies simultaneously, we expected the body schema to be extended to correspond to the number of bodies. In this study, we investigated whether body ownership is induced in multiple bodies simultaneously by measuring the body schema when the bodies are replicated and split. Experiment 1 investigated whether two side-by-side virtual bodies moved synchronously with the participant’s movements to extend the body schema. In Experiment 2, virtual split bodies in which a virtual body was split into left and right sides were presented. As a result, the body schema was extended only in the split bodies. However, it changed even in the no body ownership condition, suggesting that the appearance of the split bodies simply affected the body schema, not that body ownership of the split bodies occurred at the same time. The results of the questionnaire indicated that the split bodies might be perceived as a single body.
Alju is inspired by the pet-owner relationship and mimics exotic birds living on our bodies. It is a dress that interacts with sudden changes in its surroundings by reacting to the sounds around it. It indicates moderate and high noise levels by imitating bird wings moving on the garment in different velocities. Just like a pet, it acts ambiguously and requires us to pay attention to its intentions and try to interpret why it acts the way that it does. In this regard, our work aims to present pets as a metaphor for designing wearable displays and transferring animal-like behaviors to a garment to replicate emotional communication between pets and their owners, easing the way the wearer perceives the challenges of wearable displays automatically modifying her appearance.
Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) provides multiple interaction possibilities in various fields. It may transmit object affordances, user motions or give rich haptic feedback by adjusting stimulation settings, especially in virtual worlds. Parameters necessary to accept EMS, impacting how users perceive the technology, are yet not thoroughly studied. We investigated users’ acceptance of EMS by conducting an online survey (N=113) and an interview (N=5) study using four scenarios derived from the literature. We used the technology acceptance paradigm (TAM) to assess user acceptance and gathered factors for accepting/rejecting the technology. By connecting survey results and participants’ impressions of the four EMS scenarios to emerging themes, we can show that potential users reject EMS systems if they perceive a high level of risk and a lack of the sense of agency. We drew inferences based on our findings that will guide in designing and developing products that provide acceptable experiences.
After the amputation of a limb, up to 90% of the patients report a feeling of the missing body part still being present in their perception. This effect is known as phantom limb sensation and ranges from the simple feeling of presence to a specific position, shape or phantom pain. To alleviate this pain, patients engage in mirror therapy during which a mirror is placed in front of the patient’s midsection, and the patient, while looking into this mirror, imagines that the amputated limb is in fact the healthy limb reflected in the mirror. However, this method is not without limitations. To address these limitations of conventional Mirror Therapy therapy and take advantage of the inherent potential of commercial technology, we developed an innovative assistive therapy tool based on mixed reality (MR) on the Microsoft Hololens 2. In this way, the patient’s residual limb would be augmented by a superimposed virtual arm that is completely independent from the movements of their sound limb and can interact with the environment. Patients should move around freely and perform bi-manual tasks. To achieve this, we developed an MR appliaction that includes controllers for moving the virtual hand via myoelectric sensors (EMG) and inertial units and created and 4 different interaction scenes. We anticipate that this type of immersive MR rehabilitation will have a positive impact on outcomes related to pain scores, hand/arm functionality, range of motion, and motivation to perform therapy, even when no therapist is present.
The restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic has significantly affected all aspects of daily life, especially human contact. Accordingly, an essential aspect of human contact is for training and skill acquisition, which is difficult to conduct under such restrictions. Therefore, we developed T2Snaker, a table tennis training system that comprises a robotic appendage to guide user's hand movements within a VR environment. T2Snaker's novelty lies in its flexibility to guide users movements, yet as it is not directly attached to the user's limbs, it does not impose restrictions on their movements like traditional exoskeleton systems. We explain the implementation specifics of T2Snaker and discuss its preliminary evaluation that focused on table-tennis skill acquisition. The results show that T2Snaker has high potential in skill acquisition, and users praised is ability to guide their movements and proposed various potential application domains. We discuss some design insights based on our work and present future research directions.
Due to the growing number of users, social virtual reality can get crowded. As we sometimes prefer to be only surrounded by friends or more enjoy empty galleries to have a better view, we designed SocialSlider: an interaction technique that allows us to manipulate other avatars' transparency. We implemented SocialSlider with two transparency control modes and four avatar selection techniques: (1) select a single avatar, (2) select all, (3) select a co-located group, or (4) select a semantic group, such as unknown users. Through a user study, we found that (A) The concept of SocialSlider is appreciated and promising to overcome issues of crowded VR, such as occlusion. (B) The avatar's level of transparency can affect their perceived co-presence. Thus, we show that fading avatars' visibility is a beneficial technique in multi-user VR with benefits beyond avoiding occlusion, such as controlling the felt privacy or the experience of being social.
Bionic vision uses neuroprostheses to restore useful vision to people living with incurable blindness. However, a major outstanding challenge is predicting what people 'see' when they use their devices. The limited field of view of current devices necessitates head movements to scan the scene, which is difficult to simulate on a computer screen. In addition, many computational models of bionic vision lack biological realism. To address these challenges, we present VR-SPV, an open-source virtual reality toolbox for simulated prosthetic vision that uses a psychophysically validated computational model to allow sighted participants to 'see through the eyes' of a bionic eye user. To demonstrate its utility, we systematically evaluated how clinically reported visual distortions affect performance in a letter recognition and an immersive obstacle avoidance task. Our results highlight the importance of using an appropriate phosphene model when predicting visual outcomes for bionic vision.
Gaze input is a promising input method that allows intuitive and fast pointing. There are two phases in gaze input: pointing and selection. In the pointing phase, the cursor follows the eye movement to the target object, whereas in the selection phase, the user clicks a button to generate the next event. Switching between the two phases is a general problem in gaze input. In this study, we propose a method for selection by applying an additional modality, namely breathing. In the proposed system, we measured the time of inhalation and exhalation from the change in the nose and mouth temperature observed by a thermal camera. Using this time, we judge which phase the user is in. Through user studies, we found that our method enables selection at a speed not quite inferior to the conventional method. In addition, this method has the advantage of allowing multiple selection commands.
