Unmasked

Hye Yeon Nam, Iyleah Hernandez, Brendan Harmon

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing a mask to cover one's mouth is recommended in public spaces to prevent the spread of the virus. Wearing masks hinders our ability to express ourselves, as it is hard to read facial expressions much less lips behind a mask. We present Unmasked, an expressive interface using lip tracking to enhance communication while wearing a mask. Unmasked uses three different methods - either accelerometers, LEDs with a camera tracking, or streaming video - to make speaking while wearing a mask more expressive. Unmasked aims to improve communication during conversations while wearing a mask. This device will help people express themselves while wearing a mask by tracking their mouth movements and displaying their facial expressions on an LCD mounted on the front of the mask. By enhancing communication while wearing a mask, this prototype makes social distancing less disruptive and more bearable, metaphorically closing some of the distance between us.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationUIST 2020 - Adjunct Publication of the 33rd Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery, Inc
Pages111-113
Number of pages3
ISBN (Electronic)9781450375153
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 20 2020
Externally publishedYes
Event33rd Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, UIST 2020 - Virtual, Online, United States
Duration: Oct 20 2020Oct 23 2020

Publication series

NameUIST 2020 - Adjunct Publication of the 33rd Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology

Conference

Conference33rd Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, UIST 2020
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityVirtual, Online
Period10/20/2010/23/20

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Software

Keywords

  • covid-19
  • emotions
  • expressive interface
  • lip tracking
  • mask
  • physical computing

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