Hugvie (by Minato et al, 2013)

 

Hugvie is a brightly-colored pillow in an extremely generic shape of a person. Within the large cushion, there is a pocket that’s designed to house a smartphone or regular cell phone during a call. According to Ishiguro, the Hugvie uses a micro-controller and two vibrating discs to “translate” the emotions of the caller’s voice into physical form. The two vibrators act in conjunction to replicate a human heartbeat. The speed as well as the intensity of the heartbeat is completely dependent on the volume and mood of the caller.

Source: Minato, T., Nishio, S., Ishiguro, H. 2013 Evoking an Affection for Communication Partner by a Robotic Communication Medium. In proceeding of: ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI2013).
http://www.geminoid.jp/projects/CREST/hugvie.html
http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/smartphone-enabled-hugvie-adds-physical-sensation-to-phone-calls/

ForcePhone (by Hoggan et al & Nokia 2012)

ForcePhone functioning like ComTouch is the implementation of the concept. The mobilephone senses the pressing force and transfers this signal to another ForcePhone. The signal will then be translated to vibration output. Hoggan's study demonstrated the possibility of how to translate different pressure to different vibration pattern.

Reference: Hoggan, E., Stewart, C., Haverinen, L., Jacucci, G., Lantz, V. 2012. Pressages: Augmenting Phone Calls with Non-Verbal Messages. In UIST'12
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/429618/squeeze-your-phone-and-send-a-loved-one-a-hug/
http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/16/forcephone-from-nokia-hiit-sends-positive-vibes-with-a-squeeze/

Anybots (Anybots® 2011-2014)

 

The Robots are equipped with a speaker, camera, and video screen.  They connect to the Internet over Wi-Fi and you activate them as well as control them remotely from your computer using just a web browser from anywhere in the world.  If you have a camera hooked up to the computer, you can show live video of yourself while interacting through the robot in a remote location.  Driving is easy, straightforward and most people get used to it in a few minutes.  You can use the 4 arrow keys to make it turn or go forward & back.  A built-in guidance system augments the driver’s commands, making it easy to safely avoid people or objects and move through narrow doorways.

 

Reference: http://www.anybots.com/

Live Mask and ma petite chérie (by Misawa et al 2012)

 

This system tracks the remote user’s face and extracts the head motion and the face image. The face-shaped screen moves along three degree-of-freedom (DOF) by reflecting the user’s head gestures. As the face-shaped screen is molded based on the 3D-shape scan data of the user, the projected image is accurate even when it is seen from different angles.

 



Ma petite chérie is a telepresence system with a reduced scale face-shaped display for supporting intimate telecommunication. Small size face displays are ecpected to retain the benefit of real-size talking-head type telecommunication systems, and also provide more intimate impression. It is easier to transport or put on a desk, and it can be worn on the shoulder of the local participants so that people bring it like a small buddy.

Reference: Misawa, K., Ishiguro, Y., Rekimoto, J. 2012 Ma petite chérie: What are you looking at? A Small Telepresence System to Support Remote Collaborative Work for Intimate Communication. In AH'12
http://lab.rekimoto.org/projects/livemask/

Anchor (Farny et al 2012)

Anchor is a message application that focus on the sailors' working situation and their long-distance relationships. The application wurde be using before sailors' employments. The message and media data are stored and locked in the device. During the sailors' employments, in which internet connection is not always available, Anchor synthesizes "new" messages from the locked storage to imitate the synchronous communication. Users' real messages and media data are synchronized when the internet is available (in the haven).

Reference: Farny et al. 2012 Anchor: Connecting Sailors to Home. In CHI 2012 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems.
http://www.jfarny.com/anchor.php

Callo Robot (Yim et al 2011)

Callo Robot on Youtube:
#1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEPLJPRARY8
#2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCkm2LGrULY
#3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h05f6nWmo8
#4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuU_HB4_Uck

Callo is a telepresence robot combined with mobile phone. It makes user defined dancing motion when receiving a phone call, or other expressive facial animation and body motion to express emoticons in a text message. It can also recognize caller's hands motion and represent it to the remote receiver.

Reference:
Yim, J., Shaw, C. D. 2011 Design Considerations of Expressive Bidirectional Telepresence Robots. In CHI 2011
http://www.gizmag.com/cellphone-robots-relay-users-movements/15078/

CheekTouch (by Park et al, 2010)

CheekTouch combines tactile feedback delivered via the cheek and multi-finger input while speaking on the mobile phone. It is natural to use because it maintains the posture of speaking on the phone. Also, adding a tactile interface on the cheek can compensate for non-verbal cues on voice communi-cation. If another audio signal is added for non-verbal cue while speaking on the mobile phone, then it might disturb communication and overlap with verbal signals. Also, if video signals are added, users have to move their devices from their cheeks to see the visual messages which could lead to missing verbal signals. Therefore, tactile interfaces on the cheek can enrich communication while speaking on the mobile phone.

Source: CheekTouch: Park, Y., Lim, C., Nam, T. 2010, An Affective Interaction Technique while Speaking on the Mobile Phone. In Proceeding of Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA '10 CHI '10 ) 3241-3246
http://cidr.kaist.ac.kr/mediawiki/index.php/CheekTouch

Pillow Talk (by Montgomery, 2010)

Pillow Talk is a product which connects long distance lovers. Consisting of two wristbands and a smartphone app, it enables couples to connect with each other via their heartbeats.

The wristband picks up the wearer’s heartbeat and transmits it via Bluetooth to the iOS or Android app. You are connected directly to your partner via the app; you will receive his/her heartbeat, and they will receive yours. By plugging in your headphones or the pillow speaker (available separately) you can lie in bed and head the realtime heartbeat of your loved one. The result is an intimate interaction between two lovers, regardless of the distance between them.

Source: http://blog.joannamontgomery.com/2010/04/pillow-talk-my-degree-project.html
http://littleriot.com/pillowtalk/

ambiPhone (by Philips 2009)

 

The ambiPhone is an ambient distributed telephony system for the home that enhances the social experience of phone conversations. Its solution proposed consisted of a set of ambient telephony (ambiPhone) table-top units distributed in a household. While a user would move around the home, the call would follow him, jumping from one unit to another. Each unit was able to set, capture and render the call, as well as render the contact’s representation. This representation was made by means of a colored light aura in the call rendering unit. Ideally, the light would glow in different patterns according to immediacy and intimacy behaviors like turn-taking, mood, or distance from the unit.

The use of an abstract visual representation enhances the feeling of being together, creating engagement and emotional response, affording a more affective mediated communication and further eliciting the feeling of a visit, without creating obligations or putting a big cognitive load on users.

 

Reference: Emparanza, J. P. et al. Ambient Telephony: Designing a Communication System for Enhancing Social Presence in Home Mediated Communication. 2009.

http://www.jorgeperegrin.com/?projects=ambiphone

teddy bear (by Hemmeryckx-Deleersnijder et al, 2008)

The teddy bear captures pictures and can be connected and displayed on a remote tv. In order to do so, the bear must be placed on a table, which acts as a trigger to start a rich context- sharing conversation over the TV. By placing the bear on the table the user can call someone. The pictures captured over the day can also be seen by the person who was called.

Source: Hemmeryckx-Deleersnijder, B. and Thorne, J. M. 2008. Awareness and conversational context-sharing to enrich TV-based communication. Comput. Entertainment 6, 1, 1–13.

Photoframe ( by Hemmeryckx-Deleersnijder et al, 2008)

The photo frame takes spontaneously pictures and sends it to the remote picture frame. The photo frame displays the most recent one and from two hours ago. Also, it can display one favorite picture selected by the user. Keeping looking on it, the photo frame recognized the explicit action and displayed an icon to indicate this. Meanwhile, the remote frame begins to flash and sound an alert. If the user is busy and just glances on it, the frame spots the glance, silences the alert, and displays an icon on the partner’s frame to indicate that the call had been declined.

Source: Hemmeryckx-Deleersnijder, B. and Thorne, J. M. 2008. Awareness and conversational contextsharing to enrich TV-based communication. Comput. Entertainment 6, 1, 1–13.

Bag of Gifts (by Feltham et al, 2007)

The bag hangs permanently in the children’s playroom or bedroom wall and is connected to an Internet network. A video message is recorded by a the user using conventional video chatting hardware and software this is sent to the Bag of Gifts and registers as the light on the front of the bag glowing. The remote person opens the bag and takes the trinket out that is vibrating. On removing the trinket from the bag a message plays on the video screen on the inside of the bag flap. Once the message finishes the user can replace the trinket inside the bag to activate a video recording sequence. They then record their response, which is sent when they close the bag flap.

Source: Feltham, F., Vetere, F., and Wensveen, S. 2007. Designing tangible artefacts for playful interactions and dialogues. In Proceedings of the Conference on Designing Pleasurable Products and Interfaces (DPPI’07). ACM Press, 61–75.

PlayPals (by Bonanni, 2006)

PlayPals are a set of wireless dolls which are supposed to be used for playful remote communication. PlayPals are a set of figurines with their mechanical arms that provide children with a playful way to communicate between remote locations. PlayPals is
designed for children aged 5-8 to share virtual copresence.

Reference: Bonanni, L., Vaucelle, C., Lieberman, J., and Zuckerman, O. 2006. PlayPals. In Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’06). ACM Press, 574–579.
http://tangible.media.mit.edu/project/playpals/
http://architectradure.blogspot.de/2006/01/playpals-tangible-interfaces-for.html

The Hug (by DiSalvo et al, 2003)

The soft form suggests the user reaching to hug. Communication is initiated by squeezing the left paw, and speaking the receiver’s name into the microphone. Once it is connected to the remote hug, senders can squeeze, stroke, hug, or pet the Hug. The sensor data is compiled and transmitted to the remote pair through light, heat, and vibrations. Communication is terminated by squeezing the right paw. Lights and sounds signal incoming hugs. During the hug, the sender and receiver have an open voice channel. Up to four hugs can be stored in a queue; these are signaled on the base using a gently blinking light.

Sourc: DiSalvo, C., Gemperle, F., Forlizzi, J., and Yonkers, W. 2003. The Hug. In Proceedings of the Conference on Designing for User Experiences (DUX’03). ACM Press, 1–4.
http://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/19/19850/1.html

Iso-phone (by Auger et al 2003)

 

The Iso-phone is a telecommunications concept providing a service that can be described simply as a meeting of the telephone and the isolation tank. By blocking out peripheral sensory stimulation and distraction, the Iso-phone creates a telephonic space of heightened purity and focus.

The user wears a helmet that blocks out all unnecessary sensory input whilst maintaining the head above the surface of the water. This water is heated to body temperature thus blurring the boundaries between the user’s body and the external physical environment. In combination, a space is created providing a pure, distraction free environment for making a telephone call. The only sensory stimulus presented is a two-way voice connection to another person using the same apparatus in another location.
The recent boom in mobile telephone usage has led to telecommunication being practiced in an efficient rather than a qualitative manner. Wireless technologies have brought about profound changes in the way interact. The cultural assimilation of the mobile is now at a point where its ubiquity permits function with little contextual discrimination and it’s portable nature has led to a blurring of the real world with the telephonic. This techno-schizophrenic existence conflicts with the very distinctions that make communication necessary and expressive. The aim of this project was firstly to offer an alternative take on the telephonic experience and secondly to generate discussion with a wide audience on how emerging technologies affect culture and human behaviour and experience.

Reference: Auger, J., Loizeau, J., Agamanolis, S. 2003 Iso-phone: a total submersion telephonic experience

Hover (by Maynes-Aminzade et al, 2002)

 

Hover acts as a low-cost, low-bandwidth that is used while talking on the phone. It provides visual awareness of remote persons in the form of an abstract physical representation with several affordances: a real-time indication of the level of physical activity of the remote person. It is connected to a computer and telephone or an Internet phone. The user places multicolored balls representing persons with whom she frequently communicates (e.g. family and friends) on a stand on the Hover platform. The user takes a ball representing the other person and puts it on the top of the ramp. The ball is sensed, then rolls down and stays at the foot of the ramp. The number is then dialed automatically. On the other person’s end, the ball that represents the person who is calling starts floating when the call comes in. If this person wants to pick up the call, he/she grabs the ball and puts it on the ramp. The ball rolls across a sensor on the ramp, sending a signal to indicate that he/she answered the call. At the foot of the ramp, an air stream levitates the ball. As someone speaks, the other one sees the ball floating up and down in correspondence with the remote partner’s movements.

interactive flash demo: http://www.monzy.org/hover/hover.swf

Source: Maynes-Aminzade, D., Tan, B.-K., Goulding, K., and Vaucelle, C. 2002. Hover. In ACM SIGGRAPH Conference Abstracts and Applications (SIGGRAPH’02). ACM Press, 194.http://www.monzy.org/hover/

Digital Family Portrait (by Kristine et al 2002)

When a family member notices the digital portrait of another family member. A eye-gaze installation collects the data. To build a connection, one just touches the portrait. The remotely collected eye-gaze data is displayed to provide context for the caller to gauge a time point when the remote member desires family conversation.

RobotPHONE (by Sekiguchi et al, 2001)

RobotPHONE is a robotic interface for phone call communication. The final prototype is a voice communication system with a couple robotic teddy bears. The robotic system makes the couple bears have synchronic movement. In a phone call one can move the head or hands of the bear so that the partner's bear shakes head or waves hands.

Source: Sekiguchi, D., Inami, M., Tachi, S. RobotPHONE: RUI for Interpersonal Communication. In Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '01) Pages 277-278, 2001
http://projects.tachilab.org/RobotPHONE/robotphone.html
http://tachilab.org/modules/projects/robotphone.html              

VibroBod (by Dobson et al, 2001)

VibroBod’s rubber body contains force-sensitive resistors and microphones. It captures hand position, pressure, and vocalizations. VibroBods rest on the laps of individuals having personal conversations via phone, chat or instant messaging. VibroBod has various finger holds to afford different gestural positions which correspond with different emotional states; more anxious finger grips, for example, are deep holes set so that both hands and individual fingers are contracted close together, whereas relaxed finger grips accommodate arms and hands much further apart in more restful positions. The force of a user’s grip produces different pressures on three sensitive resistors, which, combined with vocal inputs, affect different frequencies and vibration patterns inducing distinct psychological states. The VibroBod grows warmer with use.

Source: Dobson, K., Boyd, D., Ju, W., Donath, J., and Ishii, H. 2001. Creating visceral personal and social interactions in mediated spaces. In Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’01). ACM Press, 151–152.

Emotion Container (by Lambourne, 1997)

The multimedia products are designed to be given as special presents. They have a small screen, a loudspeaker and a scent compartment. They are carriers of messages of special significance. Instead of calling someone up and leaving him/her a message, users can send audio messages. Emotion Containers offer a more sensory way of giving. They are attractive on two levels: as objects in their own right, and as carriers of messages of special significance. The future could be that you're watching an old movie 'Casablanca' and you remember your best friend with whom you went to see the movie many times. Instead of calling him up and leaving him a message, you send him 30 seconds of your favourite scene from the movie.

Source: Lambourne, R., Feiz, K., and Rigot, B. 1997. Social trends and product opportunities. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’97). ACM Press, 494–501.
http://www.sigchi.org/chi97/proceedings/briefing/rl.htm