Tabletop Conference in Banff: Martin Kaltenbrunner's post on the Tangible Interaction Frameworks blog

I'd like to share with you a link to a great post covering the recent Interactive Tabletops and Surfaces conference in Banff, Canada. The post was written by Martin Kaltenbrunner, author of the Tangible Interaction Frameworks blog, and is packed with info and interesting links:

Tabletop Conference in Banff

Martin was impressed by the iLabat the University of Calgary.  He also mentioned the work of researchers from the Media Computing Groupat RWTH Aachen University known for SLAP, and the Media Interaction Lab at the Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences, known for CRISTAL.

Info about Martin from his website:

"Martin Kaltenbrunner, co-founder of Reactable Systems, is a Ph.D. candidate at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain. His research concentrates on tangible user interfaces and human computer interaction in general, topics he has been also teaching at the Kunstuniversität Linz, Universitat Pompeu Fabra and UCP Porto. Recently he has been mainly working on the human computer interaction concepts of the Reactable - an electronic musical instrument with a tangible user interface. He is author of the open source tangible interaction framework reacTIVision and the related TUIO protocol, which has been widely adopted for open source multi-touch applications."

RELATED

Previous Posts

Dreams about haptic overlays, Part Two:  SLAP- Bridging the Gap Between Virtual and Physical Controls on Tabletops

CRISTAL: One Giant Remote Control

For an overview of what Interactive Tabletops and Surfaces is about, take a careful look of the video from the 2008 conference, credits listed below:


Video Credits (in order of appearance, Tabletop 2008):
1. System Design for the WeSpace: Linking Personal Devices to a Table-Centered Multi-User, Multi-Surface Environment. Jiang, H., Wigdor, D., Forlines, C., Shen, C.
2. Group Coordination and Negotiation through Spatial Proximity Regions around Mobile Devices on Augmented Tabletops, Kray C., Rohs, M., Hook, J. Kratz, S.
3. Tabletop AgilePlanner: A Tabletop-Based Project Planning Tool for Agile Software Development Teams
Wang, X., Maurer, F.
4. TableTrays: Temporary, Reconfigurable Work Surfaces for Tabletop Groupware. Pinelle, D., Stach, T., Gutwin, C.
5. IntuPaint: Bridging the Gap Between Physical and Digital Painting. Vandoren, P., Laerhoven, T., Claesen, L., Taelman, J., Raymaekers, C., Reeth, F.
6. Experiences with Building a Thin Form-Factor Touch and Tangible Tabletop. Izadi, S., Butler, A., Hodges, S., West, D., Hall, M., Buxton, B., Molloy, M.
7. ShapeTouch: Leveraging Contact Shape on Interactive Surfaces, Cao, X., Wilson, A., Balakrishnan, R., Hinckley, K., Hudson, S.
8. PocketTable: Mobile Devices as Multi-Touch Controllers for Tabletop Application Development, Hafeneger, S., Weiss, M., Herkenrath, G., Borchers, J.
9. Presenting using Two-Handed Interaction in Open Space, Vlaming, L., Smit, J., Isenberg, T.
10. DepthTouch: Using Depth-Sensing Camera to Enable Freehand Interactions on and Above the Interactive Surface Benko, H., and Wilson, A.
11. Pokey: Interaction Through Covert Structured Light. Wren, C., Ivanov, Y., Beardsley, P., Kaneva, B., Tanaka, S.
12. Creating Malleable Interactive Surfaces using Liquid Displacement Sensing. Hilliges, O. Kim, D., Izadi, S.
13. Collaborative Interaction and Integrated Spatial Information and Services in Disaster Management, Fruijtiera, S., Dulkb, P., Diasc, E.

MICROSOFT: ARE YOU LISTENING? Cool Cat Teacher (Vicki Davis) Tests Out Microsoft's Multi-touch Surface Table

When Microsoft unveiled the Surface in 2007, I was disappointed that there were no immediate plans to market it for use in education. At the time, there were no immediate plans to release the Surface for research and development by university students. I had just completed a course in human-computer interaction, and with my background as a school psychologist, I KNEW this sort of technology would work well in education.

My head was brimming with ideas for this innovative technology for use with the students I work with every day.

The following video shows a demonstration of Microsoft's multi-touch, multi-user Surface table at the 2009 NECC conference, and also provides insightful comments from Vicki Davis, author of the very popular Cool Cat Teacher blog. Vicki discusses the value of surface/tabletop computing in education and shares her views about the need for user involvement in the educational software development process. She also gives great advice about how Microsoft or other developers of tabletop computing systems should proceed.

I agree with Vicky's comments, 100%, as my regular blog readers know!

MICROSOFT, ARE YOU LISTENING?



In the above video, it is apparent that the musical instrument applications do not provide a good touch response on the Surface. Vicki suggests that touch responsiveness is key, and that all Surface applications should be held to the high standard of Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch. Vicky goes on to say that Microsoft should support easy development of applications, and ensure that applications are very user-friendly and easy for school folks to install. If you work in a K-12 setting, you know what I am talking about ; )

Vicky is preaching to the choir when she stresses that Microsoft R&D (and others) should involve users in ongoing development, in a meaningful way, by using REAL people, REAL teachers, people who work with students. If you have ever battled with a "lame" educational application, you know why this is so very important!

Vicky's enthusiasm for the use of tabletop/surface computing in education can not be ignored. She absolutely knows what she is talking about, and she is the instructional technology voice for a multitude of educators around the world.

Here is Vicky's plea:

"I wish Microsoft would listen to these 3 things from a teacher in a classroom (me). I know Microsoft has bigger things to do than watch this video, but, I can dream, can't I?"

(I've paraphrased the following quotes.)

1. Understand the amazing potential for Surface devices in education. Look at three to five years out. You are looking at the future.

(This technology can engage students who have ADHD, etc.)

2. Harness the power of your users! Pull in your users. There are so many people in education would give their thoughts for free!

3. Create virtual and online ways for Microsoft to interact with teachers.


"If Microsoft decides to invest in this, and I do hope that somebody watching this video will understand the importance of integrating the world around us into the learning experiences and the learning environment, as part as how we remake and re-do education."

My sentiments exactly!

A few thoughts:

So where are we now?

Smart Technologies has come out with the SMARTTable, but it was designed for younger students. At this point, there are very few options, especially affordable options, for educators of students in the upper grades to use this technology.

Some members of the NUI-group are involved in creating educational applications for table-top systems, but they are few in number.

A few companies are using this technology for education, but the applications are mostly limited to interactive museum exhibitions.

From my research on this topic, there are very few developers that have the interest or the inclination to create educational applications for table-top computing.

My hope is that this will change soon! Join me in this conversation.

CRISTAL: One Giant Remote Control Multi-Touch Coffee Table; ACM Interactive Tabletops and Surfaces 2009 in Banff, Canada

Via Wired Gadget Lab Priya Ganapati 8/14/09

What is CRISTAL ? Control of Remotely Interfaced Systems using Touch-based Actions in Living Spaces and acronym for a project at the Media Interaction Lab at the Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences, Digital Media.

Watch the videos:




"CRISTAL simplifies the control of our digital devices in and around the living room. The system provides a novel experience for controlling devices in a home environment by enabling users to directly interact with those devices on a live video image of their living room using multi-touch gestures on a digital tabletop." -mediainteractionlab, YouTube

The CRISTAL project is a collaboration between several people, spanning across a few universities, according to the Media Interaction Lab website:

Christian Rendl
Media Interaction Lab
Florian Perteneder
Media Interaction Lab
Thomas Seifried
Media Interaction Lab
Michael Haller
Media Interaction Lab
Daisuke Sakamoto
University of Tokyo
Jun Kato
University of Tokyo
Masahiko Inami
Keio University
Stacey D. Scott
University of Waterloo

CRISTAL received the Best Emerging Technology Award at the 36th International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques (SIGGRAPH 2009)

Below is a sample of the Interactive Media Lab's publications:

M. Haller, P. Brandl, C. Richter, T. Seifried, J. Leitner, and A. Gokcezade, 2009.
"Interactive Displays and Next-Generation Interfaces." Springer, 2009. [bibtex]




C. Köffel, W. Hochleitner, J. Leitner, M. Haller, A. Geven, and M. Tscheligi, 2009.
"Using Heuristics to Evaluate the Overall User Experience of Video Games and Advanced Interaction Games." Springer, 2009. [in press] [bibtex]


M. Haller, C. Forlines, C. Koeffel, J. Leitner, and C. Shen, 2009.

"Tabletop Games: Platforms, Experimental Games and Design Recommendations." Springer, 2009. in press [bibtex]

J. Leitner, C. Köffel, and M. Haller, 2009.

"Bridging the gap between real and virtual objects for tabletop games," International Journal of Virtual Reality, vol. 7, pp. 33-40, 2009. in press [bibtex]




J. Leitner, M. Haller, K. Yun, W. Woo, M. Sugimoto, M. Inami, A. D. Cheok, and H. D. Been-Lirn, 2009.
"Physical Interfaces For Tabletop Games," Computer Entertainment, vol. XX, p. XX, 2009. [bibtex]

M. Haller and M. Billinghurst, 2008.
"Interactive Tables: Requirements, Design Recommendations, and Implementation."

D. Leithinger and M. Haller, 2007.
"Improving Menu Interaction for Cluttered Tabletop Setups with User-Drawn Path Menus," Horizontal Interactive Human-Computer Systems, 2007. TABLETOP 07. Second Annual IEEE International Workshop on, pp. 121-128, 2007. [bibtex]




D. Regenbrecht, M. Haller, J. Hauber, and M. Billinghurst, 2006.
"Carpeno: interfacing remote collaborative virtual environments with table-top interaction," Virtual Reality, vol. 10, iss. 2, pp. 95-107, 2006. [bibtex]

One of the people involved in the CRISTAL project is Stacey D. Scott, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of systems design engineering at the University of Waterloo. She is also the director of the Collaborative Systems Laboratory. The Collaborative Systems Laboratory focuses on fundamental interfaces and interaction techniques for shared large-screen displays, such as multi-display environments and social-supporting digital tabletop interfaces, and also collaborative and decision support interfaces for complex, time-critical team environments.

Dr. Scott is also one of the program co-chairs of the upcoming ACM Interactive Tabletops and Surfaces 2009 Conference will be held November 23-25 in Banff, Canada.

Mark your calendars!

The following topics, as they relate to interactive tabletops and surfaces, will be presented:

• Applications
• Gesture-based interfaces
• Multi-modal interfaces
• Tangible interfaces
• Novel interaction techniques
• Data handling/exchange on large interactive surfaces
• Data presentation on large interactive surfaces
• User-interface technology
• Computer supported collaborative systems
• Middleware and network support
• Augmented reality
• Social protocols
• Information visualizations
• Sensing and input technologies
• Human-centered design & methodologies

Here is the "who's who" of interactive tabletops and surfaces- the Interactive Tabletops and Surfaces program committee:

Patrick Baudisch	Hasso Plattner Institute Potsdam, Germany
Francois Berard	University of Grenoble, France
Peter Brandl	Media Interaction Lab, Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences, Austria
Andreas Butz	University of Munich, Germany
Francois Coldefy	Orange Labs, France
Morten Fjeld Chalmers	University of Technology, Sweden
Kentaro Fukuchi	University of Electro-Communications, Japan
Tovi Grossman	Autodesk Research, Canada
Mark Hancock	University of Calgary, Canada
Petra Isenberg	University of Calgary, Canada
Yuichi Itoh	Osaka University, Japan
Karrie Karahalios	University of Illinois, USA
Hiro Kato	Osaka University, Japan
Hideki Koike	University of Electro-Communications, Japan
Frank Maurer	University of Calgary, Canada
Max Mühlhäuser	TU Darmstadt, Germany
Christian Muller-Tomfelde	CSIRO-ICT Centre, Australia
Miguel Nacenta	University of Saskatchewan, Canada
Patrick Olivier	Newcastle University, UK
Jun Rekimoto	Sony / University of Tokyo, Japan
Meredith Ringel Morris	Microsoft Research, USA
Daisuke Sakamoto	Tokyo University, Japan
Yoichi Sato	University of Tokyo, Japan
Chia Shen	Harvard University, USA
Masahiro Takatsuka	University of Sydney, Australia
Lucia Terrenghi	Vodafone Group R&D, Germany
Bruce Thomas	University of Southern Australia, Australia
Melanie Tory	University of Victoria, Canada
Edward Tse	SMART Technologies, Canada
Fred Vernier	South-Paris University, France
Andy Wilson	Microsoft Research, USA
Massimo Zancanaro	Bruno Kessler Foundation (formerly ITC), Italy

If you are a university student researching interactive tabletops, multi-touch surfaces, and/or gesture interaction, I hope this post helps!

Interaction Design 2009: Video of Dan Saffer's Presentation

Dan Saffer - Attention Awareness for Interaction Designers 2009 from Interaction Design Association on Vimeo.

Dan Saffer is an interaction designer who recently spoke at the 2009 IXDA conference. His company is Kicker Studio.

FYI: Gestural Entertainment Center


RELATED:
What is Interaction Design?

Internet of Things Europe 2009 Conference - Internet Rabbits, Mirrors, Stamps, and More!

The Internet of Things Europe 2009 conference, focusing on emerging technologies for the future, will be held on May 7th and 8th in Brussels at the Sofitel Brussels Europe hotel.

Rafi Haladjian, a co-founder of Violet, will be presenting at the conference during the following session on Thursday, May 7th.

Session 2: Innovation and emerging technologies and business models
"This session will explore what emerging innovations, technologies and market trends are being seen now, and which are likely to emerge in the future. What are the research requirements and obstacles in terms of affordability, usability or accessibility that need to be addressed? How will economic, technological and application trends drive the evolution of architectures for the ‘Internet of Things’? What successful business models are already being seen today, and how can these be adapted with future technological developments?"

In a previous post, "The Internet of Things can be Cute: MIR:ROR by Violet", I discussed how RFID is being used in a variety of playful ways to trigger a link to information.The following video from the Violet website explains how MIR:ROR uses little RFID stamps to interact with the Internet and activate things through the MIR:ROR. Each stamp has an e-mail address.



The rabbit in the picture below is called Nabaztag, from Violet, the first Internet-connected Rabbit. He hears, he reads, and he speaks. He can wake you up, give the weather forecast, update you on your friends face-book and twitter status. He can also send music, e-mail messages, and read stories.

The little rabbits have been around for quite a while. Below is an opera composed by Antoine Schmitt and Jean-Jacques Birge, following an idea by Guylaine Monnier:


90 of the rabbits were brought to the performance by their owners, and ten were supplied by Violet.

You can purchase books from the Violet website for 3 to 7 year old children. These books feature Ztamps, that are recognized by the MIR:ROR and the Nabaztag rabbit, and will read the book to the child.

On a more serious note, here are a few other sessions that I'd be interested in attending at the Internet of Things conference:

Session 5: Privacy, Security & Data Protection
"Although privacy and data protection policy has become increasingly sophisticated since the emergence of the Internet, controversies are likely to accelerate with the new applications likely to be encountered in the Internet of Things. Security issues, particularly surrounding unauthorised access to and unintended disclosure of data are becoming more prevalent. What qualitatively new challenges are presented by the Internet of Things? How can the rights of citizens or businesses in one country be safeguarded on global networks? Whatrights pertain to Things on the Internet of Things?"

Session 6: Service Architecture and Communication
"The range of connectivity options available is bewildering - but the challenges of scalability, interoperability and ensuring return on investment for network operators remain. How will communication needs change as a result of the Internet of Things? What new service architectures will be required to cater for the connectivity demands of emerging devices? How will spectrum rights holders participate in the Internet of Things"

(A similar post is on the Technology Supported Human-World Interaction blog.)