BoldMove: Enabling IoT Device Control on Ubiquitous Touch Interfaces by Semantic Mapping and Sequential Selection

Abstract

Recent advances in ultra-low-power ubiquitous touch interfaces make touch inputs possible anytime, anywhere. However, their functions are usually pre-determined, i.e., one button is only associated with one fixed function. BoldMove enables spontaneous and efficient association of touch inputs and IoT device functions with semantic-based function filtering and a wait-confirm sequential selection strategy. In this way, such touch interfaces become ubiquitous IoT device controllers. We proposed the semantic-based IoT function filtering to improve control efficiency, then designed the sequential selection mechanism for interfaces with constrained input and output resources. We implemented BoldMove on a custom-built touch interface with capacitive button inputs and a smartwatch display. We then conducted a user study to determine the design parameters for the sequential selection method. At last, we validated that BoldMove only takes 3.25 seconds to complete a selection task if the target function appears within the Top-3 displayed item. Even if the assumption is relaxed to Top-10, BoldMove is still estimated to be more efficient than the conventional selection method with device-based filtering and menu-navigated selection.