Shape-Changing Interfaces: A Review of the Design Space and Open Research Questions

Author

Majken K. Rasmussen, Esben W. Pedersen, Marianne G. Petersen, Kasper Hornbæk, CHI 2012

Shape-changing interfaces; shape displays; organic user interfaces; actuated interfaces; non-visual actuators

review existing research on shape-changing interfaces
- Analyze the change in shape, the dynamics of change, the interaction, and the design purposes
- Discuss open research questions and under-researched areas
- Provide an overview of the design possibilities in shape-changing interfaces
- Outline open research questions

Types of change in shape
- orientation, form, volume, texture, viscosity, spatiality, adding/subtracting, and permeability
Types of transformation
- Kinetic parameters
  - Velocity, path, direction, space
  - provide few details on how the transformation occurs
  - movements often are complex and thus hard to express in text
- Expressive parameters
  - Association
  - Adjectives
  - designer’s intention with the movements tend to be rather subjective and provide little information about the movements necessary to obtain it
  - rare studies of how users actually experience the prototypes
Interaction
- No interaction
  - shape change is used solely as output
- Indirect interaction
  - shape change occurs based on implicit input
- Direct interaction
  - shape change is used as both input and output

Functional Aims
- Communicate information
- Dynamic affordances
- Haptic feedback
Hedonic Aims
- aesthetical
- emotion
- Stimulation and provocation
Explorative
- technical
- aim at increasing our understanding of the materials involved in shape change
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