SqueezaPulse: Adding Interactive Input to Fabricated Objects Using Corrugated Tubes and Air Pulses

Abstract

We present SqueezaPulse, a technique for embedding interactivity into fabricated objects using soft, passive, low-cost bellow-like structures. When a soft cavity is squeezed, air pulses travel along a flexible pipe and into a uniquely designed corrugated tube that shapes the airflow into predictable sound signatures. A microphone captures and identifies these air pulses enabling interactivity. We describe the underlying acoustic theory used to inform our design, an informal examination of the effect of different 3D-printed corrugations on air signatures, and our resulting SqueezaPulse implementation. To demonstrate and evaluate the potential of SqueezaPulse, we present four prototype applications and a small, lab-based user study (N=9). Our evaluations show that our approach is accurate across users and robust to external noise. We conclude with a discussion of limitations and future work.