Animate mobiles: proxemically reactive posture actuation as a means of relational interaction with mobile phones

In this paper, we explore body language in mobile phones as a means of relational interaction. We describe a prototype that allows the simulation of proxemic reactions to the nearing hand of a user, ranging from affection to aversion, based on nearness-based input and shape change-based output. A user study is reported, which indicates that users were able to interpret the prototype's behavior drawing on animal parallels. It is concluded that proxemically reactive actuation may be a viable means of actively integrating the relationship between the user and the device into the interaction.

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