GestureSock: Exploring toe gestures as alternative input method

Abstract

In daily life, our hands are often occupied—whether holding a child and a dog leash or riding a bicycle—making it difficult to interact with devices. This challenge has led HCI research to explore "hands-free" interactions like voice commands, though these are limited in noisy environments and certain social settings. A recent lab study using motion capture demonstrated the potential of toe movements for interaction. Building on this, we investigate toe-based interactions by embedding pressure sensors into a sock. Our work tackles practical implementation challenges and explores the feasibility of an interactive sock that captures toe movements. We demonstrate that combining pressure and motion sensing expands interaction possibilities, enabling a richer interaction vocabulary.