HeatGoggles: Enabling Ubiquitous Touch Input through Head-Mounted Devices using Thermal Imaging

Abstract

Displays are a ubiquitous part of our everyday life. Digital, as well as paper-based displays, are used on various occasions to present us with different information. While users cannot interact with many of these displays yet, they could benefit from making them interactive. Research shows that thermal cameras can be exploited to make surfaces interactive by sensing touchpoints based on the heat signature and residue. However, most of the research done uses a stationary setup. This work proposes HeatGoggles, a wearable gadget detecting touch input on arbitrary surfaces using thermal imaging. We report on its design, prototypical implementation, and first evaluation. We show that it can be used on non-touch-enabled displays as well as other traditional information displays.