Exploring Expressive NFC-Based Mobile Phone Interaction with Large Dynamic Displays

Abstract

Inherent obstacles in current mobile applications are the limited input and output capabilities of mobile phones. In many ways, e.g. in terms of display capabilities and processing power, todaypsilas mobile phones are quite versatile and provide opportunity for a multitude of new applications. Conversely, mobile phones will always be somewhat limited by certain form factors that are intrinsic to their compact design. For instance, small screen sizes make it difficult to visualize and manage applications that require a large amount of information on-screen for display and interaction. This paper reflects on our work accomplished when developing a new NFC interaction technique in which a mobile phone can be used as a direct input device for interaction with large dynamic displays. Using the (previously published) touch & interact interaction technique, the user touches the display with their mobile phone to perform an action. Beyond expressive interaction, an advantage of this approach is that large displays can provide spatial awareness while the mobile phone uses its capabilities to enhance the interaction (e.g. providing privacy and new interaction possibilities). We give technical details of our implementation and reflect on the most salient findings from three user studies, two of which elicit very promising results regarding selection performance and usability when compared with current, existing alternatives. Throughout the development of these prototypes, various interaction caveats have been identified, which are outlined in this paper, that promise to influence future NFC applications and interaction paradigms.