Listen to your Heart: Novel Ways of using Respiration and Heartbeat as Inconspicuous Input Modalities

Abstract

The interactive capabilities of public interactive systems are often not fully exploited, as users often feel uncomfortable to interact with them as they may feel observed by bystanders while interacting. In some contexts, users would like to perform private and inconspicuous interactions with these systems. Performing expressive gestures in the public or using a mobile phone in front of a screen is a clear indicator for others that one wants to interact with the system. In this paper, we explore how systems can leverage the respiration rate and the heartbeat of a user to allow inconspicuous interactions with interactive screens and with mobile devices in the public. We present a system, which implements the idea of the “rotating compass” using the heartbeat of a user to access personal information from a public screen. In addition, we show how respiration can be used to interact with a mobile device in an inconspicuous way in public settings.