Implications of location and touch for on-body projected interfaces

Very recently, there has been a perfect storm of technical advances that has culminated in the emergence of a new interaction modality: on-body interfaces. Such systems enable the wearer to use their body as an input and output platform with interactive graphics. Projects such as PALMbit and Skinput sought to answer the initial and fundamental question: whether or not on-body interfaces were technologically possible. Although considerable technical work remains, we believe it is important to begin shifting the question away from how and what, and towards where, and ultimately why. These are the class of questions that inform the design of next generation systems. To better understand and explore this expansive space, we employed a mixed-methods research process involving more than two thousand individuals. This started with high-resolution, but low-detail crowdsourced data. We then combined this with rich, expert interviews, exploring aspects ranging from aesthetics to kinesthetics. The results of this complimentary, structured exploration, point the way towards more comfortable, efficacious, and enjoyable on-body user experiences.

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