Squeezable Interactions

Skweezees are soft deformable objects embedded with sensors that allow for unique types of interactions and user experiences. In this seminar, Lucca Geurts will give an overview of the technologies and the designs that were conceived and tested out in the past decade. Skweezees have been used as game controllers, as a DIY toolkit for occupational therapists and physical therapists, as an interface for children with motor disabilities, and as an instrument for emotion regulation. In the seminar, Lucca will discuss the successful and the less successful outcomes, which are due to incorrect assumptions and naïve ambitions.

Lucca Geurts is an Associate Professor at KU Leuven (Belgium), at the Department of Computer Science, division of Human-Computer Interaction. Lucca’s research focuses on designing, implementing and evaluating interactive sensor-actuator systems with tangible components and playful elements. The application domains are Health, Learning, Arts and Entertainment, and so healthcare professionals and artists are often involved in our projects. We work with vulnerable target groups such as children with developmental disabilities, people with chronic conditions, or patients in remote areas in developing countries. At the moment, Lucca is one of Digital Futures’ Scholars in Residence, in KTH’s Media Technology and Interaction Design Department.