SpatIO: Spatial Physical Computing Toolkit Based on Extended Reality

Proper placement of sensors and actuators is one of the key factors when designing spatial and proxemic interactions. However, current physical computing tools do not effectively support placing components in three-dimensional space, often forcing designers to build and test prototypes without precise spatial configuration. To address this, we propose the concept of spatial physical computing and present SpatIO, an XR-based physical computing toolkit that supports a continuous end-to-end workflow. SpatIO consists of three interconnected subsystems: SpatIO Environment for composing and testing prototypes with virtual sensors and actuators, SpatIO Module for converting virtually placed components into physical ones, and SpatIO Code for authoring interactions with spatial visualization of data flow. Through a comparative user study with 20 designers, we found that SpatIO significantly altered workflow order, encouraged broader exploration of component placement, enhanced spatial correlation between code and components, and promoted in-situ bodily testing.