TangibleCubes — Implementation of Tangible User Interfaces through the Usage of Microcontroller and Sensor Technology

Abstract

The interaction between human beings and technology builds a central aspect in human life. The most common form of this human-technology interface is the graphical user interface which is controlled through the mouse and the keyboard. In consequence of continuous miniaturization and the increasing performance of microcontrollers and sensors for the detection of human interactions, developers receive new possibilities for realising innovative interfaces. As far as this movement is concerned, the relevance of computers in the common sense and graphical user interfaces is decreasing. Especially in the area of ubiquitous computing and the interaction through tangible user interfaces a highly impact of this technical evolution can be seen. Apart from this, tangible and experience able interaction offers users the possibility of an interactive and intuitive method for controlling technical objects. The implementation of microcontrollers for control functions and sensors enables the realisation of these experience able interfaces. Besides the theories about tangible user interfaces, the consideration about sensors and the Arduino platform builds a main aspect of this work.

As a result, a practical realisation of this theoretical point of view illustrates the possibilities of the integration of sensors and microcontrollers in technical input devices. A theoretical and practical evaluation of various sensors and their qualification as human-technology interfaces is based on this realisation. The result of this evaluation was the TangibleCubes application, which integrates a tangible interaction concept.