“Emerging keys: interactive electromagnetic levitation keys” by Baba, Ushiama and Tomimatsu

We propose a interactive key that is levitated by the electromagnetic induction and its interaction on some applications. Our device called ”Emerging Keys” can control up/down of keys as application demands. With this device, we can offer the user appropriate affordance according to user’s situation with one device. An input/output device sophisticated to the application can offer kinetic affordance to a user. However, it is troublesome for users in the computer interaction that can treat various applications to use a different interface for each application. Then, we developed a levitating interactive key by the electromagnetic induction. With this device, we can offer the user kinetic affordance according to user’s situation with one device. Our device looks like a easy haptic display, but it does not contain only output function but also input function. Through this device we develop a new type of computer interaction. Touch screen interaction is similar to this from the view of intuition or user indicating, but ,unlike touch screen, the user can get haptic or tangible interaction.

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