A Paradigm for Orientation-Based Universal Remote Control

This paper presents a novel paradigm for universal remote control of devices, where universality refers to the ability to control multiple devices with the same control artefact. Here, a device represents a physical appliance offering a set of services to the end user. Based on a tangible user interface approach, control actions are exerted by simple and intuitive physical manipulations of the control artefact, under the assumption that the physical device provides suitable feedback to the user. Rotation movements are employed for browsing devices and their services. Tilt movements are used for selecting/deselecting the device and the service to be controlled. Rotation is again employed to steer the input of the selected service. To apply these concepts, we consider the use of dedicated control interfaces, which are components that can be physically attached to different devices in order to present a uniform control interface with feedback capabilities between the user and these devices. The paper describes a fully functional application of the described paradigm in a domestic setting.