Chalmers University of Technology
Question
Asked 12th Feb, 2015
Is there any difference between Physical UI and Tangible UI?
The terms Physical User Interfaces and Tangible User Interfaces are many times used interchangeably in the literature. In the last few years the TUI term is dominant, though. I think that they have a subtle different meaning. Which are your thoughts? Is a TUI a particular case of PUI? Can they be used interchangeably or should we be more careful when using each term?
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All Answers (8)
Charles Darwin University
Basically those two have a slight logical difference. But in most cases you can use TUI and PUI interchangeably.
Federal University of Santa Catarina
For me, "Tangible Interface" is about to provide physical objects in order to interact with virtual environments; and "Physical Interface" is far away from this. For example, a weareble device (like a T-Shirt with digital sensors) is a PUI but it is not a TUI, because with it you are not interacting with some virtual or augmented reality.
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Delft University of Technology
Dr. Milara, let me offer you also these alternative interpretations:
A tangible interface (original name: graspable interface) is a user interface that takes the advantage of human abilities of grasping and manipulating physical objects and materials. When using a tangible interface, one can interact with digital information through a physical device or a physical environment. An everyday example is a computer mouse.
Physical interface is where connections and interactions with a system are established. For instance, the total of power sockets, power switches, video sockets, audio sockets, USB connectors, GPIO-s, T-links, camera control ports, network interface sockets, HDMI and DVI sockets, and COM ports is referred to as a physical interface of an electro-technical device (e.g. a codec).
Kind regards, I.H.
I would say that this is a great question and that the answer somewhat comes down to personal opinion. Gradually TUI and PUI have become synonymous although there are a number of ways of distinguishing between them. My favoured approach would be that
1) Tangible User Interfaces and input systems - a physical artefact which gives you control over a computational environment. As Imre says, a favourite example here would be a mouse although anything from washing machine buttons to the rotary dial on early iPods would be equally accurate.
2) I would argue the a Physical User Interface implies that there is some physical output, usually through touch actuators. There are a lot of computer systems which use either heat or vibration as output signals without necessarily having physical inputs to them. I would class these as PUIs.
Such a distinction does mean that a system can be both a TUI and a PUI.
Having made this distinction, I have to confess that I have used both terms synonymously and it is probably an issue the field should clarify!
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Delft University of Technology
Daniel, I agree with you that physical user Interfaces are about generation and manipulation of (input/output) physical signals. For example, we have developed a leotard for gymnasts that informs them by buzzers if their body posture deviates from an ideal, and takes the information for this from the stretched sensors that are also integrated into the leotard. Kind regards, I.H.
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WOWCube (CubiOs Inc.), FL, USA
Usually, the physical interface realize physical communication medium between the network devices. And the interaction between the computer and the person by means of physical objects is a "TUI"
Delft University of Technology
Dear Ilya, I think your specification nicely resonates with the one I proposed. Kind regards, Imre
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