MouseField: A simple and versatile input device for ubiquitous computing

Although various interaction technologies for handling information in the ubiquitous computing environment have been proposed, some techniques are too simple for performing rich interaction, and others require special expensive equipments to be installed everywhere, and cannot soon be available in our everyday environment. We propose a new simple and versatile input device called the MouseField that enables users to control various information appliances easily without huge amount of cost. A MouseField consists of an ID recognizer and motion sensors that can detect an object and its movement after the object is placed on it. The system can interpret the user's action as a command to control the flow of information. In this paper, we show how this simple device can be used for handling information easily in ordinary environments like living rooms, kitchens, and toilets, and show the benefits of using it in the ubiquitous computing environment.