HCI research · Wearables · TEI 2022
Tactual Labs
Novel gesture input built around wrist sensing and everyday objects.
R&D internship · Prototyping · Research engineering
- Wearables
- Machine Learning
- HCI
Novel gesture input built around wrist sensing and everyday objects.
A research internship focused on a novel gesture input technique using a wristband sensor and everyday object interactions.
During an R&D internship at Tactual Labs in Toronto, Julius worked with senior researchers on a novel interaction technique based on minute skin-surface changes at the wrist. The goal was to infer rich hand-object interactions without augmenting the objects themselves.
The team designed and tested an end-to-end prototype that let users control virtual sliders and dials through familiar physical actions such as twisting a bottle cap or stretching a rubber band. Capacitive wrist sensing was paired with machine-learning models to interpret force, grasp, and continuous interaction states.
The work culminated in a TEI 2022 publication and demonstrated how everyday hand interactions can become expressive digital input, opening up new possibilities for ubiquitous interfaces and embodied computing.