Unit-Less Measurements with StoryStick++: Rethinking Measurement as Interactive Processes

Abstract

Dimensional measurement remains one of the most error-prone activities in making, engineering, and construction, despite the technical precision of modern instruments. Errors frequently arise not from the tools themselves, but from usability challenges: correct alignment of tools, interpreting numeric values, and transferring measurements across media. We introduce StoryStick++, a novel measurement system that rethinks measurement as an interactive, unit-less process. Inspired by story sticks, century-old craft tools using align-and-mark workflows, StoryStick++ replaces numerical readouts with direct spatial interactions. The device enables users to measure, mark, and transfer dimensions without converting to numerical values or standard units. Our system integrates a smartphone-based clip-on with embedded sensing and a series of attachments to support a wide variety of measurement tasks for measuring and marking basic and complex geometries with step-by-step guidance. Together, these contributions offer a new paradigm for measurement; one that emphasizes usability over abstraction and numeric precision.