Recent technological advances in input sensing, as well as ultra-small projectors, have opened up new opportunities for interaction – the use of the body itself as both an input and output platform. Such on-body interfaces offer new interactive possibilities, and the promise of access to computation, communication and information literally in the palm of our hands. The context of on-body interaction allows us to take advantage of unique and extra dimensions of input our bodies naturally afford us. In this paper, we consider how the arms and hands can be used to enhance on-body interactions, which is typically finger input centric. To explore this opportunity, we developed Armura, a novel interactive on-body system, supporting both input and graphical output. Using this platform as a vehicle for exploration, we prototyped a series of applications and interactions. This helped to confirm chief use modalities, identify fruitful interaction approaches, and in general, better understand how interfaces operate on the body. This paper is the first to consider and prototype how conventional interaction issues, such as cursor control and clutching, apply to the on-body domain. Additionally, we bring to light several new and unique interaction techniques.

Research Team: Chris Harrison, Shilpa Ramamurthy, Scott E. Hudson