Paper Reading #12: Madgets: Actuating Widgets on Interactive Tabletops

Comments


Reference
Madgets: Actuating Widgets on Interactive Tabletops
Malte Weiss, Florian Schwarz, Simon Jakubowski, Jan Borchers
User Interface Software and Technology

Summary

Weiss et al. discuss the use of magnets to fabricate actuating widgets that operate on tabletops. Their approach is innovative and it allows manufacturers to easily prototype their widgets at a relatively low price. Current technologies fall short of allowing physical interaction with the widgets; often times treating them as atomic units that are limited to the use of convex prototypes. Madgests, however, not only allow broader types of widgets but they also add a third dimension into the use of tabletops. This advantage is produced by the attraction and repulsion properties of magnets. Another interesting feature of madgets is their ability to use induction in order to receive power from the table top. By implementing this power conduction system, madgets eliminate the need of batteries or cable that clutter the tabletop space. One important aspect/limitation of madgets is that the interface uses an IR camera in order to capture object position. That being said, the positional system is helped by the use of white paper dots on the madgets; which is not very aesthetically pleasing. Future work will attempt to correct the issue by introducing clear or polarized dots.

Discussion
I thought this paper was very innovative and promising since it incorporates the use of physical gadgets into the user experience. The most important aspect of this research is the use of the third dimension that can communicate with the user. I think this technology opens several HCI design paradigms.