Programmable Polarities: Actuating Interactive Prototypes with Programmable Electromagnets

Nisser, Martin; Cheng, Leon; Makaram, Yashaswini; Suzuki, Ryo; Mueller, Stefanie

doi:10.1145/3474349.3480198

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…While the field of non-actuated modular TUIs (e.g., [26,46,47,70,75]) can already benefits from our results, we cannot be sure how our results will apply to future actuated modules. Research in actuated modules currently explore electromagnetic [31,53] and electrostatic actuators [48,59]. As the technology advances and the size of actuators decreases, future work should replicate this study to verify that our results apply to actuated modules.…”

Section: Limitation Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 61%

“…We conduct the first study with passive magnets as bonding mechanism. Passive magnets -although not as strong as other alternatives, e.g., mechanical clamps [56] hinges [69], electromagnets [31,53]-are simple to use, and allow the modules to self-align [66]. Magnets help users to reconfigure UIs made of small scale modules, both in 2D (e.g., [26,45]) and in 3D (e.g., [66,75]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Modular Tangible User Interfaces: Impact of Module Shape and Bonding Strength on Interaction

Pruszko

Bourgeois

et al. 2023

Proceedings of the Seventeenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction

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Modular Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) -i.e., UIs made of smallscale physical modules-offer novel opportunities for tangible interaction thanks to their highly customizable form factor. Such modular TUIs were proposed with different shape of modules and bonding strength between them. The problem we address in this paper is the lack of knowledge of how bonding strength and shape of the modules impact usability. We present the first study exploring the impact of bonding strength and module shape on subjective user ratings when interacting with a magnetic modular prototype. We assessed three levels of bonding strength (low, mid, high) and two shapes (cubes and rounded cubes) in a controlled user study. Participants performed eight common manipulations found in the literature for (non-)modular TUIs. Experimental results showed that (1) cubic modules are overall easier and more satisfying to manipulate, except for precision and bending tasks, (2) low strength impairs UI solidity, but high strength impairs precision tasks with cubic modules. CCS CONCEPTS• Human-centered computing → Human computer interaction (HCI).

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Section: Limitation Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 61%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modular Tangible User Interfaces: Impact of Module Shape and Bonding Strength on Interaction

Pruszko

Bourgeois

et al. 2023

Proceedings of the Seventeenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction

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“…Future work could investigate the use of more strongly magnetizable materials to increase mating strength. These encodings could equivalently be used to build strong interfaces by replacing programmed pixels with arrangements of permanent magnets, and for active self-assembly using electromagnets [30] or electropermanent magnets whose encodings could be changed online. In addition, the programming step may be rapidly accelerated using parallel arrays of electromagnets to program every pixel simultaneously.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selective Self-Assembly using Re-Programmable Magnetic Pixels

Nisser¹,

Makaram²,

Faruqi³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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This paper introduces a method to generate highly selective encodings that can be magnetically "programmed" onto physical modules to enable them to self-assemble in chosen configurations. We generate these encodings based on Hadamard matrices, and show how to design the faces of modules to be maximally attractive to their intended mate, while remaining maximally agnostic to other faces. We derive guarantees on these bounds, and verify their attraction and agnosticism experimentally. Using cubic modules whose faces have been covered in soft magnetic material, we show how inexpensive, passive modules with planar faces can be used to selectively selfassemble into target shapes without geometric guides. We show that these modules can be easily re-programmed for new target shapes using a CNC-based magnetic plotter, and demonstrate self-assembly of 8 cubes in a water tank.

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“…Magnetic materials, however, still remain far behind this digital fabrication revolution [3] despite the fact that magnetic materials hold great promise for interactive applications. For example, researchers used magnets to create novel tangible interfaces (MechaMagnets [18]), to produce custom tactile sensations (MagneLayer [16]), to guide the assembly of 3D objects (DynaBlock [12], ElectroVoxel [6], Stochastic Self-assembly [5]), and to create actuated interfaces (Programmable Polarities [10]). However, all of these works either use of-the-shelf magnets (MechaMagnets [18], DynaBlock [12]) or require manual construction of the customized magnetic materials (FluxPaper [11], MagneLayer [16]).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Demonstration of Mixels: Fabricating Interfaces using Programmable Magnetic Pixels

Nisser¹,

Makaram²,

Covarrubias³

et al. 2022

Adjunct Proceedings of the 35th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology

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In this demonstration, we present Mixels, programmable magnetic pixels that can be rapidly fabricated using an electromagnetic printhead mounted on an of-the-shelve 3D printer. The ability to program a magnetic material pixel-wise with varying magnetic forces enables Mixels to create new tangible, tactile, and haptic interfaces. To facilitate the creation of interactive objects with Mixels, we provide a user interface that lets users specify the high-level magnetic behavior and that then computes the underlying magnetic pixel assignments and fabrication instructions to program the magnetic surface. Our custom hardware add-on based on an electromagnetic printhead clips onto a standard 3D printer and can both write and read magnetic pixel values from magnetic material. Finally, we highlight the importance of fundamental magnet parameters such as coercivity and remanence in designing a magnetic plotter, and show how leveraging 2D plotting enables a number of interactive applications. INTRODUCTIONAdvances in digital fabrication tools have enabled users to fabricate objects with a wide range of properties by modifying physical Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for proft or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the frst page. Copyrights for third-party components of this work must be honored. For all other uses, contact the owner/author(s).

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Programmable Polarities: Actuating Interactive Prototypes with Programmable Electromagnets

Cited by 8 publications

References 17 publications

Modular Tangible User Interfaces: Impact of Module Shape and Bonding Strength on Interaction

Modular Tangible User Interfaces: Impact of Module Shape and Bonding Strength on Interaction

Selective Self-Assembly using Re-Programmable Magnetic Pixels

Demonstration of Mixels: Fabricating Interfaces using Programmable Magnetic Pixels

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