Airburst

Airburst's bike pump-inspired controllers engage the whole body in play.

context

design for physical interaction i

team

demi hu kelly zheng kira cui

timeline

fall 2025 6 weeks

tools

python arduino

// background

Physical controllers; 1D interface.

Our challenge was to design custom game controllers with an emphasis on the physical interaction aspect. What affordances are presented to the users? How does their engagement with the controller relate to the gameplay? We wanted to design something intuitive and fun, so we took inspiration from familiar real-world mechanisms like a bike pump.

// concept

Airburst is as competitive two-player game where players push a ball back and forth on an arc-shaped 1D track.

Players leverage strategic timing, strength, and gravity to pump bursts of air that push the ball all the way to their opponent's side to scrore a point. Through a bike pump-inspired controller, Airburst engages the whole body in fast-paced, intuitive physical play.

Airburst Interaction Sequence — Airburst interaction loop: Game start, Blue pushes, Red scores, Blue scores.

Airburst Controllers — Airburst controllers with LED light track.

// design

Design details indicate hand and foot placement.

Airburst's physical form takes inspiration from bike pumps. Our design process went through many iterations: from the beginning we knew we wanted something that was intuitive to use and could be played with force. We tested punch (foam button), squeeze (hand pump), and pump (handlebar/handheld) mechanisms, and decided on pump for the clearest association to outputting air.

The body of the controller is puffy as if it itself is inflated. We added divots to the handlebar underside and ridges to the footholds as affordances for users to recognize where to place their hands and feet.

Parametrically designed in Grasshopper, printed in PLA.

Airburst handle details — Ergonomic handlebar details.

// prototyping

Using found objects helped us streamline the building process, but structural integrity was a challenge during demos.

We used real-world objects for both inspiration and parts. While the controller body is inspired by a bike pump, we ended up using a balloon pump inside the casing, since there is no pressurized return. We wanted players to have to control both the up and down motion so their timing, not strength, was the biggest differentiator.

The LED track is composed of a LED strip inside a hollow plastic hula-hoop. The bubbles on the hula hoop perfectly match our air-inspired motifs.