Abstract
While smartwatches are widely adopted these days, their input and output space remains fairly limited by their screen size. We present StrapDisplays—interactive watchbands with embedded display and touch technologies—that enhance commodity watches and extend their input and output capabilities. After introducing the physical design space of these StrapDisplays, we explore how to combine a smartwatch and straps in a synergistic Watch+Strap system. Specifically, we propose multiple interface concepts that consider promising content distributions, interaction techniques, usage types, and display roles. For example, the straps can enrich watch apps, display visualizations, provide glanceable feedback, or help avoiding occlusion issues. Further, we provide a modular research platform incorporating three StrapDisplay prototypes and a flexible web-based software architecture, demonstrating the feasibility of our approach. Early brainstorming sessions with 15 participants informed our design process, while later interviews with six experts supported our concepts and provided valuable feedback for future developments.
Related Publications
In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. CHI ’20, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. ACM.
Publisher Video Research Website
Watch+Strap:
Extending Smartwatches with Interactive StrapDisplays
| Category | Wearables and eTextiles |
|---|---|
| Project date | 2020 |
| Project URL | imld.de/watch+strap/ |
| Collaborators | Dr. Tom Horak, Prof. Raimund Dachselt |
| Video | Watch on YouTube |
| Technologies and Methods |
Tizen OS JavaScript D3 SSVG Streamed UI C Rapid Prototyping 3D-Printing Arduino Resistive Sensing Bendable EPDs |
