Tabletops - Horizontal Interactive Displays

Christian Müller-Tomfelde

• 06 mei 2010
• 9781849961127

Samenvatting:

The objects displayed on a table can take multiple forms. It is a logical consequence to avoid the detour and the inherent media break by transforming the surface of the table into a display able to show media that are active and can be computer-generated and computer-controlled.

Tabletops - Horizontal Interactive Displays - are compelling interfaces with unique characteristics. In everyday work, education and entertainment environments, tabletops can provide a stunning experience of intuitive interaction by direct touch and gestures ideal for small group collaboration. Recent developments of various technologies such as display and multi-touch technologies open up new possibilities to enrich interaction on horizontal interactive displays.

Bringing together current research in the domain of tabletops, this book integrates and summarises findings from the most important international tabletop research teams in 18 chapters. It provides a state-of-the art overview and allows for the discussion of emerging and future directions in research and technology of tabletops.

An introductory chapter, presenting a short history of tabletop research, technologies and products precedes the three major parts of the book, titled: "under", "on and above" and "around and beyond" tabletops. These parts are associated with different research disciplines such as Hardware/ Software and Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW).

Fellow tabletop researchers, practitioners who consider deploying interactive tabletops in real-world projects and interested readers from other research disciplines will find the book an excellent reference source which also provides a useful introduction into tabletop research for the academic curriculum.

The objects displayed on a table can take multiple forms. In meetings, it is still very often printed paper although its content was originally created on a computer. The content can also be a “table”, but now in the mathematical sense, showing, e. g. , the budget of a project. Then, we have a “table” on the table. Most often, the computer-generated contents are subject of frequent changes or dynamic in nature. It is a logical consequence to avoid the detour and the inherent media break by transforming the surface of the table into a display able to show media that are active and can be computer-generated and computer-controlled. At the same time, it is desirable to maintain the inherent features and affordances of working with the objects and the contents while sitting or standing around a table. Electronic Meeting Rooms On the basis of these and other elaborate considerations, we started to design in 1992/1993 an electronic meeting room in Darmstadt at GMD-IPSI (later Fraunhofer IPSI). The setup of our custom-built DOLPHIN-System consisted of a “traditional” large rectangular wooden table with four physically integrated workstation-like computers with at screens. This set-up was complemented by linking a large ver- cal pen-operated interactive display, at that time the rst LiveBoard outside of Xerox PARC (two of which I was able to get to Darmstadt after my stay at Xerox PARC in 1990).