“Touché” versatile sensing on daily objects | Calm Technology Case #2
Following my previous article on a public art project, I would like to share another example from my projects that aligns with the principles of calm technology: Touché.
This project was part of a research internship I undertook at Disney Research in Pittsburgh, USA, while I was enrolled in a doctoral program. At Disney, research and development are conducted on a wide range of interaction technologies used in Disneyland and its attractions, including computer graphics, virtual reality, and robotics. In the “Touché” project (official page, my website), we developed a sensor system that could detect how objects commonly found in living spaces — like doorknobs, tables, and even one’s own body — are touched. This led to proposals for interaction designs that could create unique experiences in everyday life.
In Touché project, we invented a sensing technique named Swept Frequency Capacitive Sensing (SFCS), which enables gesture input on almost any conductive object. Traditional capacitive touch sensors, like those used in smartphone touchscreens, can only differentiate between touch and no-touch states. However, using SFCS allows for the detection of complex touch gestures — such as touching, pinching, gripping, or hovering a hand over a doorknob — with very high precision. By attaching just a single wire from the sensor to a conductive object, any item can become capable of gesture detection. Thus, interactions are not limited to touch display panels; doorknobs, liquids, and even the human body itself can become touch-interactive. Our research has shown that it is possible to distinguish gestures with over 99% accuracy under five different conditions.
Below is an excerpt from a paper we authored (PDF), which heavily draws from Mark Weiser’s “The computer for the 21st century,” emphasizing the concept of using everyday objects as digital system interfaces — an idea at the heart of calm technology and ubiquitous computing.
“Our work on Touché was broadly motivated by the vision of disappearing computers postulated by Mark Weiser [43]. He argued that computers must disappear into everyday objects and ‘… the most profound technologies are those that disappear.’ As powerful and inspiring as this vision is, it raises a significant issue: how will we interact with computers that are invisible? From the end-user perspective, the interface will still appear as a computer as long as there are buttons to press and mice to move, and thus it will never truly disappear. Completely new interaction technologies are needed, and we hope that this work contributes to the emergence of future ubiquitous computing environments.”
Reference [43]. Weiser, M. The computer for the 21st century. Scientific American (9). 94–104.
Sato, Munehiko, Ivan Poupyrev, and Chris Harrison. “Touché: enhancing touch interaction on humans, screens, liquids, and everyday objects.” Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. 2012.
Eight principles of Calm Technology
Now, let’s consider how this project aligns with the eight principles of Calm Technology by Amber Case:
1. Technology should require the smallest possible amount of attention.
2. Technology should inform and create calm.
3. Technology should make use of the periphery.
4. Technology should amplify the best of technology and the best of humanity.
5. Technology can communicate, but it doesn’t need to speak.
6. Technology should work even when it fails.
7. The right amount of technology is the minimum needed to solve the problem.
8. Technology should respect social norms.
According to Case’s book, examples of digital technology based on these principles include status melodies of a Roomba to communicate status or the status LED on a MacBook charging cable.
Using familiar household items and furniture as computer interfaces is a key feature of our Touché project. We strive to draw minimal attention to human senses as per principle 1, and respect social norms as stated in principle 8.
Specifically, there’s no need for users to face a keyboard or mouse; they can carry on with their daily lives using the objects around them, incorporating the design principle 3 of using the periphery of our attention. Moreover, because the system doesn’t require learning how to use new apps or include flashy LCDs or blinking LEDs, it adheres to principle 5 that technology should communicate without being chatty, and to principle 7, ensuring only the necessary amount of technology is used. In doing so, the integration of technology into familiar environments enhances user comfort and tranquility as described in principle 2, while also amplifying the best of technology and humanity as per principle 4.
Furthermore, these everyday items maintain their primary functions, fulfilling principle 6, which demands technology to continue operating through failures.
Touché is a project deeply rooted in Mark Weiser’s vision and strongly correlates with the calm technology principles organized by Amber Case.
Alongside other endeavors like the “Departure of the Constellation” art piece and social deployment via product commercialization of mui Board, incorporating Weiser’s calm technology philosophy into society is one of my lifelong endeavors.
