Balloon Interface for Midair Haptic Interaction

Abstract

Midair physical prop is a promising tool to facilitate intuitive human-computer interaction in a three-dimensional (3D) space. In such systems, it is challenging to guarantee safety and comfort during interaction with real objects in high-speed 3D motion. In this paper, we propose a balloon interface, a midair physical prop that affords direct single-handed manipulation in a safe manner. The system uses a spherical helium-filled balloon controlled by surrounding ultrasound phased array transducers as a physical prop. It is safe to collide even when it is moving fast because it has an elastic body and does not have any mechanical parts. Fast switching of driving transducer units and closed-loop control based on a high-speed measurement system result in the 3D control of an object of a size that affords a spherical grasp, e.g., a spherical balloon of 10-cm diameter.