WatchMe: A Novel Input Method Combining a Smartwatch and Bimanual Interaction

Abstract

Smartwatches can facilitate several tasks that are performed on mobile devices. However, due to their limited size, touch interaction can be cumbersome. Although alternative input modalities such as speech input could be used, these can also introduce other issues regarding privacy or ease of use. Consequently, HCI researchers have been exploring novel input techniques for smartwatches. In this paper, we introduce WatchMe, a smartwatch application that uses the smartwatch camera and image processing techniques to allow for providing input on a drawing canvas composed of everyday objects and surfaces. We rely on a cloud OCR engine to retrieve text from captured images. Combining these characteristics, we illustrate some scenarios in which WatchMe could be used, such as a novel method for two-factor authentication.