We designed, implemented, and deployed WovenProbe, a fully-integrated and untethered multi-sensor on-skin system as a technology probe to investigate the social, technical, and design challenges for designing on-skin interfaces for field deployments.
Kunpeng Huang, Ruojia Sun*, Ximeng Zhang*, Md. Tahmidul Islam Molla*, Margaret Dunne, François Guimbretière, Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao (*equal contribution)
ACM Designing Interactive Systems (DIS) 2021, Best Paper Award
PDF | DIO | Talk | Hybrid Body Lab
On-skin interfaces demonstrate great potential given their direct skin contact; however, conducting field studies of these devices outside of laboratories and in real settings remains a challenge. We conduct a research-through-design investigation using an extended woven practice for fabricating fully-integrated and untethered multi-sensor on-skin systems that are resilient, versatile, and capable of field deployment. We designed, implemented, and deployed a woven on-skin index-finger and thumb-based inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensing system for multi-hour use as a technology probe to understand the social, technical, and design facets towards moving integrated on-skin systems into a wearer’s daily life. Further, we integrate a woven NFC coil into the IMU on-skin system, which is wirelessly powered by a smartwatch substitute, signifying the potential of our woven approach for developing wirelessly powered on-skin systems for longer-term continuous wear. Our investigation and the lessons learned shed light on the opportunities for designing on-skin systems for everyday wear.
(a) Layout of the WovenProbe, an index-finger and thumb-based inertial measurement unit (IMU) tracking system explored in this project. It includes a woven bandage-like interface that supports complex on-skin circuitry: four IMUs on the tips and ends of the thumb and index finger, a central microprocessor, an energy harvester, and an integrated NFC coil. (b) Implementation of the system. (Image Credit: Hybrid Body Lab) (License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
(a) Placement of WovenProbe device on the hand. (b) Weaving technology adopted in WovenProbe: (b1) Lace serpentine, (b2) Manhattan routing, (b3.1) Tapestry coil, & (b3.2) Double weave coil. (c) Close-ups of b1, b2, b3.1. (Image Credit: Hybrid Body Lab) (License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
WovenProbe prototype. (a) Apparatus for the user study. (b) Typical hardware components used to build our prototypes. Shown here is the version used by the NFC prototype. (Image Credit: Hybrid Body Lab) (License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
IMU traces for different gestures
The aesthetic customization of WovenProbe through a Spanish lace design that reveals the skin underneath. (Image Credit: Hybrid Body Lab) (License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
The aesthetic customization of WovenProbe through a Herringbone twill pattern with its distinctive zig-zag pattern. (Image Credit: Hybrid Body Lab) (License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
A supplementary video demonstrating the gesture data captured by our on-skin interface.
(Image Credit: Hybrid Body Lab) (License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
(Image Credit: Hybrid Body Lab) (License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Kunpeng Huang, Ruojia Sun, Ximeng Zhang, Md. Tahmidul Islam Molla, Margaret Dunne, Francois Guimbretiere, and Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao. 2021. WovenProbe: Probing Possibilities for Weaving Fully-Integrated On-Skin Systems Deployable in the Field. In Designing Interactive Systems Conference 2021 (DIS '21). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 1143–1158. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/3461778.3462105