Dynamic edge: finding eyes-free controls on orientation-agnostic devices.

Clean and minimalistic industrial designs dominate current multi-device ecosystems. One intended feature of such designs is that a device can be picked up and used in any orientation. However, the persistent presence of a few physical buttons forces most users to look for them by rotating the device before using it. We propose that tangible but virtual controls could appear where the user expects them to be, when the device is picked up. This would support the intended industrial design. In a user study, we evaluate two methods for synthesizing such controls (continuous and discrete), implemented in a functional prototype. While both were found to be highly usable, an optimum implementation should be a hybrid of both, where continuous feedback supports locating the exact position of the control. Then, either model could be used to obtain the best UX in button pressing, depending on the use case.