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We introduce new ways of using a 3D printer head as a 3-axis robotic manipulator to enable advanced fabrication and usage such as assembling separately printed parts, breaking support materials and actuating printed objects on a build-plate. To achieve these manipulations, we customize a low-cost fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printer that can attach/detach printed end-effectors which change the function of the 3D printer head (e.g. grab, break, and rotate printed objects). These techniques afford the 3D printer to fabricate and assemble complete kinetic objects such as automatons without manual processing (i.e. removing support materials and assembling objects). We conclude that a small modification to a standard 3D printer, allows us to fabricate and assemble objects without human intervention.

A block machine has been proposed as effective systems to support attack practice in volleyball. A method for manipulating the system by tablet operation has been established, and the use of the system has been shown to improve practice effectiveness. However, due to the requirement of manual operation, it has been reported that the efficiency of practice decreases due to the error between the block position and the attack position. Therefore, in order to operate the block machine automatically, we propose a method to acquire the player position from monocular video in real time and predict the attack position.

We propose a technique to support writing activity in a confidential manner with a pen-based device. Autocorrect and predictive conversion do not work when writing by hand, and looking up unknown spelling is sometimes embarrassing. Therefore, we propose AmbientLetter which seamlessly and discretely presents the forgotten spelling to the user in scenarios where handwriting is necessary. In this work, we describe the system structure and the technique used to conceal the user"s getting the information.

A prototype process of a physical user interface includes not only connection of electronic parts and an enclosure design, but also the arrangement and configuration of the electronic parts in the enclosure. This process is complicated and difficult for people who do not have modeling skills. We propose ProtoHole, a system for prototyping interactive 3D printed objects using holes, internal cavity and swept-frequency acoustic sensing. By emitting a high-frequency sweep signal inside the object, our system enables to classify changes in resonance properties when closing holes using a machine learning technique. Therefore, an object can be easily made interactive without considering an arrangement of internal electronic parts and wiring. We show examples of prototypes created with our system.

We propose a novel shape-changing technique called Filum, which makes it possible to alter the shapes of textiles to better suit the requirements of people and the environment. Using strings and various sewing methods, ordinary textiles can be automatically shortened or shrunk into curved shapes. We demonstrate a series of novel interactions between people and textiles via three applications.

Due to the popularization of personal 3D printing, individuals without a technical background have opportunities to manipulate 3D data. However, creating 3D data needs technical knowledge and it is difficult for beginners. Especially when we make practical tools for personal belongings or furniture with a 3D printer, it is difficult because of being necessary to design such tools to fit in with objects. In this paper, we propose WireMolding, a 3D modeling approach for practical personal 3D printing with which sketches can be created to construct a 3D model from the bi-dimensional shape of a physical wire mold. We developed a prototype system and demonstrated the usefulness of this concept at the example of use cases.

Referring to documents is common when making things, but there is a difficulty caused by the gap between a written description and the actual context of making. For example, when cooking following a recipe, people may lose their current position in the recipe, misunderstand the required amount of ingredients because of complicated measuring units, or skip steps by mistake. We address these problems by selecting cooking as our domain. Our proposed cooking support system, MimiCook, embodies a recipe in a real kitchen counter and directly navigates a user. The system consists of a computer, a depth camera, a projector, and a scaling device. It displays step-by-step instructions directly onto the utensils and ingredients, and controls the guidance display in accordance with the user's situations. The integrated scaling device also helps users to avoid mistakes with measuring units. Results of our user study shows participants found it easier to cook with the system and even subjects who had never cooked the assigned recipe did not make any mistakes.

More and more services and information are being stored on the cloud. Since anybody can access an Internet terminal, it is critical to provide appropriate security mechanisms. One popular approach is to strengthen the protocol and encryption algorithm, which is now being actively investigated in the security field. Another potentially effective approach is to enhance the user interface for security systems. Since security is ultimately a human-computer interaction problem, we believe that there are many interesting opportunities related to the latter approach.

In this paper, we propose a novel microwave oven called CastOven. CastOven is a microwave oven with a LCD display that enables people to enjoy videos while they are waiting for the completion of cooking. Current media contents force us to adjust our schedules to enjoy them. Media contents, especially movies, take specific time durations to watch them, but it is not easy to squeeze in time to do so in daily life. The system identifies the idle time in daily life and delivers an appropriate amount of media content to the user to enjoy during their idle time.

This paper describes a new interaction technique for Graphical User Interface (GUI) which is referred to as "VisualHaptics" because it creates haptic sensations using visual cues. VisualHaptics can convey haptic cues, reminiscient of sensations received through the sense of touch, by changing the shape, movement, and size of the cursor in a GUI. For example, VisualHaptics can express "roughness" of materials by jiggling a cursor slightly.

In this research, the authors discuss the evolution of video games from the viewpoint of interaction design. It is argued that recent video games are qualitatively different from earlier video games in their use of multiple user layers and novel domains. These qualitatively different newer games are referred to as Game 2.0, with older games being referred to as Game1.0. Appropriate design of interactions is presented as a key issue in Game 2.0 development. The relationship between game interfaces and computer interfaces is also considered.

With the increased usage of digital cameras and camera-enabled mobile phones in recent years, large numbers of photos are being taken. Many of the photos that are taken are used little, if at all. Researchers and companies have developed systems where photos can be annotated or tagged to facilitate storage and retrieval. However, people are often unwilling to spend the time and effort to carry out annotation. To solve this problem, we focus on real-time annotation where photographs are annotated at the time when they are taken. We propose a novel digital camera,.WillCam., which enables users to capture various information, such as location, temperature, ambient noise, and photographer facial expression, in addition to the photo itself. WillCam also helps users express their interest -what object or information in the picture/scene is most important for them- visually.