System Guidelines for Co-located, Collaborative Work on a Tabletop Display
Date
2003-04-14
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Abstract
Collaborative interactions with many existing digital tabletop
systems lack the fluidity of collaborating around a table using traditional
media. This paper presents a critical analysis of the current state-of-the-art
in digital tabletop systems research, targeted at discovering how user
requirements for collaboration are currently being met and uncovering areas
requiring development. By considering research on tabletop displays,
collaboration, and communication, several design guidelines for effective
co-located collaboration around a tabletop display emerged. These guidelines
suggest that technology must support: (1) natural interpersonal interaction,
(2) transitions between activities, (3) transitions between personal and group
work, (4) transitions between tabletop collaboration and external work, (5)
the use of physical objects, (6) accessing shared physical and digital
objects, (7) flexible user arrangements, and (8) simultaneous user
interactions. The critical analysis revealed several important directions for
future research, including: standardization of methods to evaluate co-located
collaboration; comparative studies to determine the impact of existing system
configurations on collaboration: and creation of a taxonomy of collaborative
tasks to help determine which tasks and activities are suitable for tabletop
collaboration.
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Computer Science