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Title: Self-Sustaining Wireless Interactive Surfaces
Date: Monday, December 13, 2021
Time: 2:30 PM - 5:30 PM EST
Location (Remote via Zoom): https://northeastern.zoom.us/j/4043881358
Nivedita Arora
Ph.D. Student in Computer Science
School of Interactive Computing
Georgia Institute of Technology
Committee:
Dr. Gregory D. Abowd (Co-Advisor), Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northeastern University, USA and School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
Dr. Thad E. Starner (Co-Advisor), School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
Dr. Sauvik Das, School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
Dr. Hyunjoo Oh, School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
Dr. Josiah Hester, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northwestern University, USA
Dr. Joseph A. Paradiso, Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
Thesis Statement: Self-sustaining inexpensive interactive surfaces can support wireless communication of speech, movement, and touch interactions with feedback in indoor scenarios.
Abstract:
Current computational augmentation of our environment requires a bulky power-intensive expensive add-on IoT device. To get rid of these add-ons, I build maintenance-free, inexpensive, easy-to-deploy interactive surfaces. I take three system design choices into account - power, form factor, and cost. The interactive surfaces have simple circuitry that can self-sustain themselves to wirelessly collect, interpret and respond to a wide variety of human interactions e.g., talking, touching, swiping.
This work will introduce three projects with iteratively increasing computational capability. First, SATURN is a self-powered paper microphone based on a triboelectric generator made from inexpensive everyday materials like paper and plastic. Next, leveraging extremely simple circuitry ZEUSSS I add wireless speech communication capability to a single SATURN microphone. Furthermore, this work demonstrates the simultaneous communication with multiple MARS by enabling nano-power multiple-channel wireless communication capabilities for direction, identity, speech, and touch sensing. Finally, this work proposes a method for adding output in the form of a self-sustained feedback display powered by the human body.
The material device, circuit, and system innovations in this thesis pave a way forward for a world where computation can be truly woven into everyday physical objects and surfaces.
