An
innovative
wearable
technology
for
standing
desks
that
creates
a
new
way
of
interacting
with
your
computer
could
reduce
cyberslacking
and
increase
healthy
movement.
Researchers
at
the
University
of
Waterloo’s
David
R.
Cheriton
School
of
Computer
Science
are
hoping
to
make
computing
a
bit
more
fun
and
physically
active
all
while
helping
computer
users
kick
cyberslacking
habits
by
introducing
a
foot
interaction
method
for
computer
users
with
a
standing
desk.
Professor
Daniel
Vogel
presents Tap-Kick-Click:
Foot
Interaction
for
a
Standing
Desk at
the
Association
for
Computing
Machinery’s
Designing
Interactive
Systems
2016
in
Brisbane,
Australia
today.
The
idea
behind
the
research
project,
conducted
with
master’s
student
William
Saunders,
is
that
computer
users
at
standing
desks
can
increase
their
physical
activity
through
indirect,
discrete
two-foot
input
using
combinations
of
kicks,
foot
taps,
jumps,
and
standing
postures
which
are
tracked
using
a
depth
camera
and
instrumented
shoes.
In addition to increasing physical activity while standing, these techniques use foot input as a cyberslacking deterrent by requiring the user to stand in a mildly uncomfortable position, such as a lunge, while viewing social networking websites or other distracting content. When the user changes from that position, the distracting content locks again.
“People
already
use
a
standing
desk
to
be
healthier
and
more
productive.
Increasing
physical
activity
by
using
your
feet
to
enter
commands
is
our
main
focus,
but
the
anti-cyberslacking
pose
is
something
that
really
pushes
the
whole
idea
farther,”
said
Vogel.
“Some
people
already
install
software
to
completely
block
sites
like
Facebook
when
they
want
to
get
work
done.
Our
technique
lets
people
use
those
sites,
but
since
they
need
to
stand
in
an
uncomfortable
pose
while
viewing
them,
they’re
naturally
encouraged
to
keep
it
brief.”
The
researchers
demonstrate
the
Tap-Kick-Click
technique
with
a
web
browser,
document
reader
and
a
code
debugger,
but
the
system
can
be
paired
with
almost
any
desktop
applications.
An
on-screen
guide
helps
the
user
remember
and
perform
associated
foot
actions
while
taking
a
break
from
working
with
their
hands.
“There’s
plenty
of
research
showing
that
using
feet
to
type
or
move
a
cursor
isn’t
a
very
good
idea.
We
demonstrate
that
with
the
right
style
of
interaction,
feet
are
a
good
fit
for
slower
tasks
with
intermittent
input.
Things
like
scrolling
a
webpage
while
reading
or
interactive
code
debugging,”
said
Vogel.
“We
hope
our
system
can
make
computing
more
physically
active
and
maybe
even
a
bit
more
fun.”