Deformable User Interfaces: Using Flexible Electronics for Human Computer Interaction

Abstract

Deformable inputs offer users the ability to physically manipulate a device for system interaction. We combine flexible electronic technologies with human computer interaction to study how changing the form factor of digital devices can offer new interaction techniques to users. We introduce our research on deformable user interfaces by discussing bend gestures as a source of input, presenting our process to rapidly prototype flexible devices, and demonstrate three deformable user interfaces: bend passwords, bend for mobile games, and bend for vision impaired users. We show how flexible devices and deformable interactions can improve how we interact with our devices.