Below are some of the cool projects to which I was lucky enough to be a key contributor.
Virtual Experience Interaction Lab
2020-2022
VEIL is a volunteer research group documenting interaction patterns in mixed reality. more →
5G Haptic Cuff
2019
The Haptic Cuff is a 5G-enabled device packed full of advanced haptic technology with high-fidelity vibration actuators, thermal elements, and a squeeze actuator. more →
Mobile AR apps
2018
We created a set of mobile apps and games that demonstrate new augmented reality interactions.
3D UI
2018
3D UI lets you feel manipulation gestures as you navigate a three dimensional user interface in AR.
ARt: Augmented Reality Touch
2018
ARt is a smart glasses experience that lets you feel liquid paint in mid air.
Remote Touch
2017
Remote Touch lets you to feel virtual force illusions using only vibration and visual design. The goal is to let people communicate body language using today’s phone technology.
Digital Sensory Storytelling
2017
At Cannes Lions, Digital Hollywood, and elsewhere, I’ve been presenting about how to use touch to tell stories. more →
360 Video
2017
To understand the business and UX opportunities associated with 360 video, we researched how people respond to 360 virtual content in a variety of contexts.
Rich Chat and Live Streaming
2017
Productizing our long experience in emotional digital communication, we provided several new chat features to our customers, including new kinds of stickers and emotional interactions. We integrated these with our partners who were part of the China Live Streaming phenomenon.
Mobile Payments
2016
Diving deep on mobile payments, we researched the market and prevailing design conventions. We then made a payments app with the goals of increasing confidence during a payment task.
Tactile Illusions
2016
Tactile Illusions explored how to create illusions of materiality and physicality on a pressure-sensitive handset. more →
Immersive Video
2015
Watching video on mobile devices is more engaging when eyes, ears, and hands are all stimulated at once. We created a toolchain for mobile video ads that lets designers create haptic tracks for videos, and lets ad networks stream haptic media to end users.
Instinctive Alerts
2015
Instinctive Alerts is a design framework that enables better notifications for wearable devices. more →
Wearable User Experience
2015
In the early days of smartwatches we generated a set of use cases and interaction guidelines for wearable experiences. more →
Future of Wearables
2014
Future of Wearables explored how context and body movement can be integrated into the wearable computing experience. more →
User Generated Content
2014
This project looked at how people author sharable content on smartphones. Our research resulted in an app that lets you add tactile and visual effects to your own videos.
Haptic Video Prototyping
2014
In order to “sketch” tactile experiences quickly and allow for design iteration, we created an innovative prototyping process that utilizes video and animation. more →
Android Integrator
2013
Integrator was a pervasive UI enhancement for Android adopted by several device manufacturers, including Fujitsu, NEC, Sharp, and Pantech.
Automotive UI
2012
This reference design for an innovative automotive UI introduced new touchscreen gestures for control of automotive interfaces with the goals of reducing glance time and increasing user friendliness. more →
Neutrino
2012
Neutrino was a miniature, self-contained prototyping platform that let designers “sketch” with hardware. more →
Enzo’s Pinball
2011
Enzo’s Pinball was a commercially released Android game that demonstrated a few new interaction ideas for mobile games. more →
Fuse concept phone
2010
Fuse combined new sensors, actuators, and UI design to envision a futuristic mobile user interface. more →
Immersion Pinball
2009
Immersive Pinball demonstrates a tablet-based multiplayer game with immersive feedback. more →
Immersive Messaging
2009
Immersive Messaging is an app that lets you touch other people through the screen of a phone. more →
PowerSurface
2007
PowerSurface was one of the earliest solutions for inductive charging of mobile devices. more →
Rulers
2005 — 2008
Rulers is a musical instrument I developed at a Stanford music technology workshop. It’s been through several design revisions, and compositions for Rulers have been performed in a few recitals. more →
WYSIWYG: Wearable, Sonic Instruments With Gesture
2006 — 2007
WYSIWYG was a collaboration among fiber artists, scientists, and musicians to develop interactive cloth that produces sound. more →
Breakflute
2007
Breakflute is an electronic flute that plays breakbeat patterns. It demonstrates that new musical instrument designs are possible with an understanding of gesture and musical cognition. more →
Design of Input Devices for Music
2007
Design of Input Devices for Music was a seminar I taught that offered hands-on experience with sensors, interfaces, and synthesis software. more →
Powerplant Family
2006
Powerplant Family was group of 23 artists from various disciplines. We held an exhibition that explored the relationship between nature and technology. more →
Miniatures
2005
Miniatures was an artistic collaboration among researchers and university faculty. We produced several sound recordings, videos, and performances. more →
Akousma
2005
I designed a Jitter-based system that turns dance into music. It was used by contemporary dancer Lucie Grégoire and composer Robert Normandeau in the Akousma concert series. more →
SensorWiki
2004
SensorWiki is an online resource hosted by McGill University that provides information about sensors and interface technologies. more →
Understanding musical interaction
2004 — 2006
Some of my research has focused on developing new design theories for musical devices. more →
Commotion + Contingence
2004
Commotion + Contingence are two electronic instruments I created. They were played in several concerts and on CBC Radio One. more →
Dave Birnbaum 