Music at your fingertips: Designing mobile interaction interfaces for runners

Abstract

This paper presents a technique to simplify the making of mobile interaction interfaces. We often use smartphones while moving, resulting in non-optimal or even unsafe mobile interactions. Better interactions need to be created with locomotion in mind and experienced in context. Consequently interactive behavior of mobile devices cannot be sketched, but must be made to be experienced. Making mobile prototypes is time-consuming and requires programming literacy. It often involves the making of an input artifact; establishing a connection between artifact and mobile phone; and implementing an application on the mobile phone for exploring the interactive behavior. The use of commercial smartphone automation tool eliminates the need for re-implementing available smartphone functionalities, and invites non-programmers into the process of making mobile interaction interfaces. To illustrate the proposed technique I present a case study of a wearable prototype to control music on the mobile phone by tapping one’s fingertips.