Input Devices for the Next Generation of Computing Platforms

Abstract

Our personal computing devices are becoming smaller, more powerful, and more tightly coupled to our body. Emerging computing platforms, such as wearable displays for virtual and augmented reality, promise to revolutionize the way we work, play, and communicate. However, there is a disconnect between the promise of always available, wearable computing and the large, fatiguing, and socially unacceptable movements required to interact with such devices. To enable smaller, more precise interactions, we must leverage systems that track the eyes, hands, and small handheld devices. In this work, I explore the design space of input devices that can be used to enable both high-fidelity immersive experiences and everyday productivity and communication tasks. I present novel sensing techniques to track the eyes with high precision and low power, wearable devices for finger and touch tracking, and techniques for tracking and haptics on handheld controllers.