User interfaces rarely adapt to the specific user preferences or
the task at hand. We present a method that allows to quickly
and inexpensively create personalized interfaces from plain
paper. Users can cut out shapes and assign control functions
to these paper snippets via a simple configuration interface.
After configuration, control takes place entirely through the
manipulation of the paper shapes, providing the experience of
a tailored tangible user interface. The shapes and assignments
can be dynamically changed during use. Our system is based
on markerless tracking of the user’s fingers and the paper
shapes on a surface using an RGBD camera mounted above the
interaction space, which is the only hardware sensor required.
Our approach and system are backed up by two studies where
we determined what shapes and interaction abstractions users
prefer, and verified that users can indeed employ our system
to build real applications with paper snippet interfaces.