HugSense: Exploring the Sensing Capabilities of Inflatables

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how to transform an inflatable pillow into a force sensor using simple pneumatics and air pressure sensors, revealing untapped sensing capabilities for potential practical applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method to repurpose inflatables as force sensors, expanding their functional use beyond actuation in HCI.

Findings

The inflatable pillow can accurately measure applied forces.

The setup provides reliable and interesting sensing data.

Potential applications in interactive systems are identified.

Abstract

What information can we get using inflatables as sensors? While using inflatables as actuators for various interactions has been widely adopted in the HCI community, using the sensing capabilities of inflatables is much less common. Almost all inflatable setups include air pressure sensors as part of the automation when pressurizing or deflating, but the full potential of those sensors is rarely explored. This paper shows how to turn a complete pillow into a force sensor using an inflatable and a simple pneumatics setup including an air pressure sensor. We will show that this setup yields accurate and interesting data that warrants further exploration and elaborate on the potential for practical applications.