{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]],"date-time":"2026-10-06T11:35:10Z","timestamp":1791286510106,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2009,11,1]],"date-time":"2009-11-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1257033600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.acm.org\/publications\/policies\/copyright_policy#Background"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000145","name":"Division of Information and Intelligent Systems","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["EHR-0227879IIS-0414389"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["EHR-0227879IIS-0414389"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000145","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000150","name":"Division of Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["EHR-0227879IIS-0414389"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["EHR-0227879IIS-0414389"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000150","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["dl.acm.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum. Interact."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2009,11]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Tangible interaction shows promise to significantly enhance computer-mediated support for activities such as learning, problem solving, and design. However, tangible user interfaces are currently considered challenging to design and build. Designers and developers of these interfaces encounter several conceptual, methodological, and technical difficulties. Among others, these challenges include: the lack of appropriate interaction abstractions, the shortcomings of current user interface software tools to address continuous and parallel interactions, as well as the excessive effort required to integrate novel input and output technologies. To address these challenges, we propose a specification paradigm for designing and implementing Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs), that enables TUI developers to specify the structure and behavior of a tangible user interface using high-level constructs which abstract away implementation details. An important benefit of this approach, which is based on User Interface Description Language (UIDL) research, is that these specifications could be automatically or semi-automatically converted into concrete TUI implementations. In addition, such specifications could serve as a common ground for investigating both design and implementation concerns by TUI developers from different disciplines.<\/jats:p>\n          <jats:p>Thus, the primary contribution of this article is a high-level UIDL that provides developers from different disciplines means for effectively specifying, discussing, and programming a broad range of tangible user interfaces. There are three distinct elements to this contribution: a visual specification technique that is based on Statecharts and Petri nets, an XML-compliant language that extends this visual specification technique, as well as a proof-of-concept prototype of a Tangible User Interface Management System (TUIMS) that semi-automatically translates high-level specifications into a program controlling specific target technologies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1145\/1614390.1614395","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2009,11,24]],"date-time":"2009-11-24T15:21:01Z","timestamp":1259076061000},"page":"1-39","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1145\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":44,"title":["A specification paradigm for the design and implementation of tangible user interfaces"],"prefix":"10.1145","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Orit","family":"Shaer","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Robert J.K.","family":"Jacob","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Tufts University, Medford, MA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"320","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2009,11,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_1_1_1","unstructured":"Ali M. F. Perez-Quinones M. A. and Abrams M. 2004. Building multi-platform user interfaces with uiml. In Multiple User Interfaces S. A. and J. H. Eds. John Wiley and Sons Chichester UK 95--116.  Ali M. F. Perez-Quinones M. A. and Abrams M. 2004. Building multi-platform user interfaces with uiml. In Multiple User Interfaces S. A. and J. H. Eds. John Wiley and Sons Chichester UK 95--116."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1166253.1166302"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/642611.642705"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_4_1","volume-title":"Proceedings of INTERACT'90","author":"Bastide R.","unstructured":"Bastide , R. and Palanque , P. A . 1990. Petri net objects for the design, validation and prototyping of user-driven interfaces . In Proceedings of INTERACT'90 . North-Holland Publishing Co. Bastide, R. and Palanque, P. A. 1990. Petri net objects for the design, validation and prototyping of user-driven interfaces. In Proceedings of INTERACT'90. North-Holland Publishing Co."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1347390.1347398"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/MPRV.2005.90"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/MC.1987.1663532"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_8_1","volume-title":"Proceedings of the 8th IFIP International Conference on Engineering for Human-Computer Interaction (EHCI'01)","author":"Calvary G.","unstructured":"Calvary , G. , Coutaz , J. , and Thevenin , D . 2001. A unifying reference framework for the development of plastic user interfaces . In Proceedings of the 8th IFIP International Conference on Engineering for Human-Computer Interaction (EHCI'01) . Springer-Verlag. Calvary, G., Coutaz, J., and Thevenin, D. 2001. A unifying reference framework for the development of plastic user interfaces. In Proceedings of the 8th IFIP International Conference on Engineering for Human-Computer Interaction (EHCI'01). Springer-Verlag."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/502716.502725"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_10_1","first-page":"60","article-title":"The hand that rocks the cradle","author":"Crampton-Smith G.","year":"1995","unstructured":"Crampton-Smith , G. 1995 . The hand that rocks the cradle . I.D May\/June , 60 -- 65 . Crampton-Smith, G. 1995. The hand that rocks the cradle. I.D May\/June, 60--65.","journal-title":"I.D"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/504502.504511"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/PROC.1974.9450"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_13_1","volume-title":"The Complete HyperCard Handbook","author":"Goodman D.","unstructured":"Goodman , D. 1987. The Complete HyperCard Handbook . Bantam Books , New York . Goodman, D. 1987. The Complete HyperCard Handbook. Bantam Books, New York."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_14_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/502348.502388"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_15_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/42411.42414"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_16_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1240624.1240646"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_17_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1166253.1166300"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_18_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/62029.62031"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1240866.1240933"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_20_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1124772.1124838"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_21_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/258549.258715"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_22_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1357054.1357089"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_23_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/27623.27624"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_24_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/310641.310642"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_25_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/503376.503437"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_26_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/169059.169335"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_27_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/985692.985743"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_28_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/502348.502350"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_29_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/11431879_12"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_30_1","volume-title":"Proceedings of the AVI'04 Workshop.","author":"Luyten K.","unstructured":"Luyten , K. , Abrams , M. , Vanderdonckt , J. , and Limbourg , Q . 2004. Developing user interfaces with xml: Advances on user interface description languages . In Proceedings of the AVI'04 Workshop. Luyten, K., Abrams, M., Vanderdonckt, J., and Limbourg, Q. 2004. Developing user interfaces with xml: Advances on user interface description languages. In Proceedings of the AVI'04 Workshop."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_31_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/344949.344959"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_32_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1468075.1468083"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_33_1","volume-title":"Esprit '91 Conference Proceedings. ACM.","author":"Nigay L.","unstructured":"Nigay , L. and Coutaz , J . 1991. Building user interfaces: Organizing software agents . In Esprit '91 Conference Proceedings. ACM. Nigay, L. and Coutaz, J. 1991. Building user interfaces: Organizing software agents. In Esprit '91 Conference Proceedings. ACM."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_34_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3870.3871"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_35_1","volume-title":"User Interface Management Systems: Models and Algorithms. Morgan Kaufmann","author":"Olsen D. R.","unstructured":"Olsen , D. R. 1992. User Interface Management Systems: Models and Algorithms. Morgan Kaufmann , San Francisco . Olsen, D. R. 1992. User Interface Management Systems: Models and Algorithms. Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_36_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/964967.801131"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_37_1","volume-title":"Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Computer Aided Design of User Interfaces (CADUI). 143--154","author":"Patern\u00f2 F.","unstructured":"Patern\u00f2 , F. and Santoro , C . 2002. One model, many interfaces . In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Computer Aided Design of User Interfaces (CADUI). 143--154 . Patern\u00f2, F. and Santoro, C. 2002. One model, many interfaces. In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Computer Aided Design of User Interfaces (CADUI). 143--154."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_39_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/989863.989880"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_40_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s00779-004-0298-3"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_41_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1142405.1142410"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_42_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/142394.142401"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_44_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/302979.303114"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_45_1","volume-title":"Petri Net Technology for Communication-Based Systems","volume":"2003","author":"Weber M.","unstructured":"Weber , M. and Kindler , E . 2003. The petri net markup language . In Petri Net Technology for Communication-Based Systems , vol. 2472\/ 2003 . Springer, 124--144. Weber, M. and Kindler, E. 2003. The petri net markup language. In Petri Net Technology for Communication-Based Systems, vol. 2472\/2003. Springer, 124--144."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_46_1","volume-title":"Proceedings of the ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology (VR). 193--200","author":"Wingrave C. A.","unstructured":"Wingrave , C. A. and Bowman , D. A . 2008. Tiered developer-centric representations for 3D interfaces: Concept-Oriented design in Chasm . In Proceedings of the ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology (VR). 193--200 . Wingrave, C. A. and Bowman, D. A. 2008. Tiered developer-centric representations for 3D interfaces: Concept-Oriented design in Chasm. In Proceedings of the ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology (VR). 193--200."},{"key":"e_1_2_1_47_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1226969.1226978"}],"container-title":["ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dl.acm.org\/doi\/10.1145\/1614390.1614395","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/dl.acm.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1145\/1614390.1614395","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,18]],"date-time":"2025-06-18T12:18:06Z","timestamp":1750249086000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dl.acm.org\/doi\/10.1145\/1614390.1614395"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2009,11]]},"references-count":45,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2009,11]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1145\/1614390.1614395"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1145\/1614390.1614395","relation":{},"ISSN":["1073-0516","1557-7325"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1073-0516","type":"print"},{"value":"1557-7325","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2009,11]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2009-01-01","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2009-07-01","order":1,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2009-11-27","order":2,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}]}}