ObjectSkin: Augmenting Everyday Objects with Hydroprinted Touch Sensors and Displays

Abstract

Augmenting everyday objects with interactive input and output surfaces is a long-standing topic in ubiquitous computing andHCI research. Existing approaches, however, fail to leverage the objects’ full potential, particularly in highly curved organicgeometries and in diverse visuo-haptic surface properties. We contribute ObjectSkin, a fabrication technique for addingconformal interactive surfaces to rigid and flexible everyday objects. It enables multi-touch sensing and display output thatseamlessly integrates with highly curved and irregular geometries. The approach is based on a novel water-transfer processfor interactive surfaces. It leverages off-the-shelf hobbyist equipment to fabricate thin, conformal, and translucent electroniccircuits that preserve the surface characteristics of everyday objects. It offers two methods, for rapid low-fidelity and versatilehigh-fidelity prototyping, and is applicable to a wide variety of materials. Results from a series of technical experimentsprovide insights into the supported object geometries, compatible object materials, and robustness. Seven example casesdemonstrate how ObjectSkin makes it possible to leverage geometries, surface properties, and unconventional objects forprototyping novel interactions for ubiquitous computing.