Liquids, Smoke, and Soap Bubbles –
Reflections on Materials for Ephemeral User Interfaces
Axel Sylvester
AGIS
University of Hamburg
22527 Hamburg, Germany
as@axelsylvester.com
ABSTRACT
In this paper we inquire material qualities for tangible user
interfaces and introduce the term “ephemeral user
interface”. We present an example user interface that
employs fragile soap bubbles for human-computer
interaction: the user has to move or blow bubbles over a
dark liquid surface in order to interact with a computer
system. Our installation uses liquid, smoke, and soap
bubbles as unusual and transient materials that demand a
very cautious and calm handling, and furthermore elude the
complete control of users, as the bubbles inevitably burst
after a short while. Thus, the soap bubble interface
provokes thoughts about durability, control, and materiality
of tangible user interfaces.
Author Keywords
Ephemeral user interfaces, tangible user interfaces,
materiality, soap bubbles, interactive art installation
ACM Classification Keywords
H.5.2 Information interfaces and presentation (e.g., HCI):
User Interfaces – Input devices and strategies
General Terms
Design, Human Factors
INTRODUCTION
Computing is progressively moving into all parts of our
daily environment. Tangible user interfaces (TUIs) offer a
graspable way to interact with these ubiquitous computer
systems, as they link physical objects to the digital world
and thus provide real handles for virtual data, abstract
concepts, or functions. An important quality of tangible
user interfaces is the materiality of the objects used for the
interaction. However, the meaning of material qualities for
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269
Tanja Döring, Albrecht Schmidt
Pervasive Computing
University of Duisburg-Essen
45117 Essen, Germany
{tanja.doering, albrecht.schmidt}@uni-due.de
tangible user interfaces has yet not been explored and
investigated sufficiently. Research results from ethnography
have shown and analyzed the importance of materials and
materiality for humans (e.g. [5]). In the context of tangible
user interfaces a first discussion has been started on
inquiring materials for tangible prototyping [1].
In this paper we present an example for ephemeral user
interfaces: a soap bubble interface. By using unusual and
ephemeral materials such as liquids, smoke, and soap
bubbles for user interaction with computer systems, our
installation provokes thoughts about durability, control, and
materiality of tangible user interfaces.
EPHEMERAL USER INTERFACES
Ephemeral (lasting a very short time, transitory, fleeting)
user interfaces employ transient materials for tangible
interaction with the digital world. These unusual materials
for interfaces constitute a contradiction to ordinary
technical and durable materials of computer technology.
Their natural properties and material qualities can be used
for novel playful and emotionally engaging interactions,
e.g. in entertaining installations or learning applications. In
our example prototype with liquids, smoke, and soap
bubbles for interaction, users have to be calm and patient in
order to move soap bubbles successfully over a surface to
change the light ambience in a room (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: The Soap Bubble Interface: a tangible user interface
with very subtle and fragile characteristics.
A SOAP BUBBLE USER INTERFACE
Soap Bubbles as Material
Soap bubbles have been and still are a field of interest in
science, art, and literature [3]. In science, their geometry
and the effect of surface tension have given soap bubbles
much attention [7]. Kids as well as grown-ups like the
 Figure 2: A user moves a smoke-filled soap bubble in order to influence the room illumination.
perfect spherical shapes with the thin, fragile, transparent,
and beautiful skin. Because of their beauty and fragility
they are used as symbols for vanity in art. On the other
hand, soap bubbles stand for eternal fascination. They form
shapes that build “in-between” spaces—spaces that are
neither real nor fully virtual [2]. Once they exist, they can
be watched and cautiously touched, but just after a short
while they disappear again. In the context of user interfaces,
soap bubbles have been used as playful output media: e.g.
as a display system in “Bubble Cosmos” [6] or as ambient
display in “The Use of Soap Bubbles” [4]. In our
installation, soap bubbles are used as fragile tangible
handles for input.
Prototype Setup and Use
The general setup of the soap bubble user interface consists
of a round transparent tabletop surface with a diameter of
about 20 inch and a thin layer of dark liquid on top. Soap
bubbles can be blown onto the surface where they stay for
some time up to several minutes. The positions and
movements of the bubbles are tracked by a camera from
beneath the table. Viewed from the bottom, each bubble
draws a well visible ring on the glass plate since the edges
of the bubbles accumulate the dark liquid. This effect is
caused by the surface tension of the liquid. We used a
multipurpose toolkit designed for rapid prototyping (the
software vvvv1) to track the bubbles and to produce audio
and visual output. A user can move the bubbles in two
ways: either directly with a moistened finger or by slightly
blowing them into the desired direction. Using the latter
method the burst of a soap bubble is less likely, but on the
other hand it is not that precise and fast. Using the first
method, directly moving the bubble with a finger, requires
some sensitivity, but once connected to the bubble, it is
easy to move and to release. In order to use the bubbles
directly for graphical output, they can be filled with smoke
and highlighted by a top projection. In a first application
bubbles are used to influence the brightness and hue of the
surrounding room light. The room illumination gets brighter
the bigger a recognized bubble is. Hue is set according to
the position of a recognized bubble using the x and y axis to
bring up blue and red tones (see Figure 2).
DISCUSSION
First of all, user interfaces like the soap bubble interface
broaden the mind concerning the inquiry of materials for
TUIs. Moreover, ephemeral user interfaces could be
1
http://vvvv.org/tiki-index.php (last access: August 10th, 2009).
270
employed in home and entertainment contexts. As
computers become increasingly integrated into living
environments, there will be a growing demand for user
interfaces for services where specific and accurate control is
not necessary and playful interaction with diverse materials
suits the situation well. For this purpose we could imagine a
concept like “buttons on demand” with ephemeral
materials. Other possible application contexts include
ambient displays, e.g. to display status and quantitative
information as well as games and entertainment.
CONCLUSION
We presented an ephemeral user interface that consists of
soap bubbles, liquid, and smoke. These uncommon
materials have extreme subtle characteristics that qualify
them for playful and engaging ways of interaction e.g. in
the context of ambient media. Thus, the ephemeral user
interface is not intended to realize a typical reliable and
precise interaction, but it rather opens the mind for
reflections on material qualities of tangible user interfaces.
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