Toolkits for shape-changing interfaces (SCIs) enable designers and researchers to easily explore the broad design space of SCIs. However, despite their utility, existing approaches are often limited in the number of shape-change features they can express. This paper introduces MorpheesPlug , a toolkit for creating SCIs that covers seven of the eleven shape-change features identified in the literature. MorpheesPlug is comprised of (1) a set of six standardized widgets that express the shape-change features with user-definable parameters; (2) software for 3D-modeling the widgets to create 3D-printable pneumatic SCIs; and (3) a hardware platform to control the widgets. To evaluate MorpheesPlug we carried out ten open-ended interviews with novice and expert designers who were asked to design a SCI using our software. Participants highlighted the ease of use and expressivity of the MorpheesPlug.

Using microgestures, prior work has successfully enabled gestural interactions while holding objects. Yet, these existing methods are prone to false activations caused by natural finger movements while holding or manipulating the object. We address this issue with SoloFinger, a novel concept that allows design of microgestures that are robust against movements that naturally occur during primary activities. Using a data-driven approach, we establish that single-finger movements are rare in everyday hand-object actions and infer a single-finger input technique resilient to false activation. We demonstrate this concept's robustness using a white-box classifier on a pre-existing dataset comprising 36 everyday hand-object actions. Our findings validate that simple SoloFinger gestures can relieve the need for complex finger configurations or delimiting gestures and that SoloFinger is applicable to diverse hand-object actions. Finally, we demonstrate SoloFinger's high performance on commodity hardware using random forest classifiers.

Assembling circuits on breadboards using reference designs is a common activity among makers. While tools like Fritzing offer a simplified visualization of how components and wires are connected, such pictorial depictions of circuits are rare in formal educational materials and the vast bulk of online technical documentation. Electronic schematics are more common but are perceived as challenging and confusing by novice makers. To improve access to schematics, we propose SchemaBoard, a system for assisting makers in assembling and inspecting circuits on breadboards from schematic source materials. SchemaBoard uses an LED matrix integrated underneath a working breadboard to visualize via light patterns where and how components should be placed, or to highlight elements of circuit topology such as electrical nets and connected pins. This paper presents a formative study with 16 makers, the SchemaBoard system, and a summative evaluation with an additional 16 users. Results indicate that SchemaBoard is effective in reducing both the time and the number of errors associated with building a circuit based on a reference schematic, and for inspecting the circuit for correctness after its assembly.

3D printing technology can be used to rapidly prototype the look and feel of 3D objects. However, the objects produced are passive. There has been increasing interest in making these objects interactive, yet they often require assembling components or complex calibration. In this paper, we contribute AirTouch, a technique that enables designers to fabricate touch-sensitive objects with minimal assembly and calibration using pneumatic sensing. AirTouch-enabled objects are 3D printed as a single structure using a consumer-level 3D printer. AirTouch uses pre-trained machine learning models to identify interactions with fabricated objects, meaning that there is no calibration required once the object has completed printing. We evaluate our technique using fabricated objects with various geometries and touch sensitive locations, obtaining accuracies of at least 90% with 12 interactive locations.

Augmented fabrication is the practice of designing and fabricating an artifact to work with existing objects. Although common both in the wild and as an area for research tools, little is known about how novices approach the task of designing under the constraints of interfacing with real-world objects. In this paper, we report the results of a study of fifteen novice end users in an augmented fabrication design task. We discuss obstacles encountered in four contexts: capturing information about physical objects, transferring information to 3D~modeling software, digitally modeling a new object, and evaluating whether the new object will work when fabricated. Based on our findings, we suggest how future tools can better support augmented fabrication in each of these contexts.

We present StackMold, a DIY molding technique to prototype multi-material and multi-colored objects with embedded electronics. The key concept of our approach is a novel multi-stage mold buildup in which casting operations are interleaved with the assembly of the mold to form independent compartments for casting different materials. To build multi-stage molds, we contribute novel algorithms that computationally design and optimize the mold and casting procedure. By default, the multi-stage mold is fabricated in slices using a laser cutter. For regions that require more surface detail, a high-fidelity 3D-printed mold subsection can be incorporated. StackMold is an integrated end-to-end system, supporting all stages of the process: it provides a UI to specify material and detail regions of a 3D~object; it generates fabrication files for the molds; and it produces a step-by-step casting instruction manual.

Copyright © 2018 for this paper held by its author(s). Copying permitted for private and academic purposes. Abstract In recent years, digital fabrication equipment has experienced a significant drop in price. Devices that once were only available to scientists are now being marketed to enthusiasts as well. Sensors and complex computational abilities are also now available in mobile and wearable devices. Taken together, these trends suggest the possibility for end users to design and fabricate their own customized smart objects. In this paper, we describe our initial efforts towards easy fabrication of 3D-printable smart objects that use natural properties such as acoustic resonance for interaction.

We present Compositional 3D Printing, recasting the 3D printer as a tool for expression that responds to real-time design decisions, analogous to composing a piece of music using a mixer. Our paradigm supports a wide range of inputs and interactions for designers, to be used in the moment; not only before printing, but anytime during production. We propose the design space of this digital fabrication paradigm, and outline methods and technical details with which researchers and practitioners can expand this space.

Three-dimensional design software is challenging for novices and non-experts; when working with objects that already exist, the task becomes even more difficult. We present Printy3D, a system that enables children to design customized containers for electronic modules using tangible interaction and spatially augmented reality feedback. Our system allows users to position physical objects in three dimensions relative to a virtual container, providing feedback on placement location and validity. We implemented two different interaction styles and conducted a user study with 26 participants, 23 of them children. We detail the results of our study and suggest implications for design as well as opportunities for future research for systems of this kind.

Textiles are an old and well developed technology that have many desirable characteristics. They can be easily folded, twisted, deformed, or cut; some can be stretched; many are soft. Textiles can maintain their shape when placed under tension and can even be engineered with variable stretching ability. Conversely, 3D printing is a relatively new technology that can precisely produce functional, rigid objects with custom geometry. Combining 3D printing and textiles opens up new opportunities for rapidly creating rigid objects with embedded flexibility as well as soft materials imbued with additional functionality. In this paper, we introduce a suite of techniques for integrating 3D printing with textiles during the printing process, opening up a new design space that takes inspiration from both fields. We demonstrate how the malleability, stretchability and aesthetic qualities of textiles can enhance rigid printed objects, and how textiles can be augmented with functional properties enabled by 3D printing.

One of the main uses for digital fabrication systems is fabrication for use with existing objects. We call this paradigm "augmented fabrication." In this paper, we discuss the types of augmented fabrication activities that can take place, situate previous work into this context, and introduce Printy, an augmented fabrication system that allows novice users to fabricate fully-functional Internet-connected objects.

The sixteenth annual International Symposium on Wearable covered the latest in user modeling, activity recognition, and user-centered research.

SenSynth is an open-source mobile application that allows for arbitrary, dynamic mapping between several sensors and sound synthesis parameters. In addition to synthesis techniques commonly found on mobile devices, SenSynth includes a scanned synthesis source for the audification of sensor data. Using SenSynth, we present a novel instrument based on the audification of accelerometer data and introduce a new means of mobile synthesis control via a wearable magnetic ring. SenSynth also employs a global pitch quantizer so one may adjust the level of virtuosity required to play any instruments created via mapping.