WeSpace and the i-Land Roomware: Second Generation of Interactivity

Here's something I came across while looking up information about technology-rich environments:


Roomware
"We describe the i-LAND environment which constitutes an example of our vision of the workspaces of the future, in this case supporting cooperative work of dynamic teams with changing needs. i-LAND requires and provides new forms of human-computer interaction and new forms of computer-supported cooperative work. Its design is based on an integration of information and architectural spaces, implications of new work practices and an empirical requirements study informing our design. i-LAND consists of several roomware components, i.e. computer-augmented objects integrating room elements with information technology. We present the current realization of i-LAND in terms of an interactive electronic wall, an interactive table, two computer-enhanced chairs, and two bridges for the Passage-mechanism. This is complemented by the description of the creativity support application and the technological infrastructure. The paper is accompanied by a video figure in the CHI99 video program."


Are we there yet?

Near Interaction Multi-touch Tables and Displays: London College of Fashion & More

Near Interaction is a company based in Lisbon, Portugal, and London, England. They are a team of interaction and media designers, focsuing on interactive physical and digital installations. Here is a sample of their work:
























Information about the Fashion Graduate Exhibition 2009 from NearInteraction's Vimeo site:
"The London College of Fashion Graduate Exhibition 2009 displays six multi-touch tables with integrated object recognition to unveil the 570 student portfolios. From a wide choice displayed on the three walls, visitors can make a selection of their preferred cards. Activating once a card is placed on the tables, visitors can move, zoom and rotate by touching the surface of the table a variety of portfolio images representing the chosen student...London College of Fashion Graduate Exhibition 2009 was designed and produced by NearInteraction in association with Paul Albert and John Nussey."

London College of Fashion Graduate Exhibition 2009

NearInteraction at the London College of Fashion Graduate Exhibition 2009 from nearinteraction on Vimeo.


Tangible Multi-touch Connectivity

Tangible Multi-touch Connectivity from nearinteraction on Vimeo.

"As part of Future Labs - Visual Experiences of the Future at FPC, Tangible Multi-touch Connectivity explores the multi-touch gestural concepts of touch to activate, pinch to enlarge and scroll to select within a multi-user environment, combined with the interaction concepts of user-identity, networks, and behavioural lifespan through a metaphorical game."

NearInteraction Playtecture: Physical + Digital + Kids + Play

NearInteraction at Habitar Portugal | Playtecture from nearinteraction on Vimeo.

Interesting, evolving work!

Eric Havir's Microsoft Surface in Education Links

I cut and pasted the following information about Microsoft Surface in Education from Eric Havir's Microsoft Surface blog. I've posted about some of these applications, but in light of the plea for Microsoft to listen to educators concerning the development of multi-touch applications, I thought it would be a good idea to share these links.

I hope that Eric won't mind mind this "re-blog"!

"Here are some applications by Microsoft, our Microsoft Surface partners and others."

• Churchend Primary School shows how teachers and students react to Surface in the classroom. There's also a great behind the scenes for developers.
• I had a few visits with Dr. Neil (1 2 3) talking about his firms edu apps for primary and secondary school kids.
• A paint application called Paint Touch that shows how even pre-schoolers can be engaged with Microsoft Surface.
• Wales Education Suite is a set of applications for primary schools
• Play together, learn together mixes fun with education
• Surface Math shows primary school kids engaged with Surface
• Magnification Ring has applications in education and museums
• The Local Impact Map used by Microsoft to educate representatives of governments and NGOs on corporate social responsibility
• History at your Fingertips is an adult focused application used at the national conventions last fall during the US presidential race
• The Pits is used at trade shows for sales, but has great educational applicability.
• Calculation Game by Ohio State's Computer Science & Engineering students and Geography faculty
• This clip from Microsoft Research UK show's how magical Microsoft Surface is for primary school students. It's fun to see the kids reactions.
• This video by Max is a music creation application, but imagine the possibilities with the objects to create educational applications linked with the physical world.
• Neuro-rehab is focused on healthcare, but can easily be applied to education as well.

We've had a number of higher education institutions buying Microsoft Surface as well, so if you're at college you may see curricula including Surface in markets where it's available. Education developers - don't forget that MSDN-AA has the Microsoft Surface SDK Workstation Edition for subscribers to get you started. Let me know if I've missed anything in my list above. I'll make future posts on healthcare, financial services, etc.

Cheers.
Eric

Thanks, Eric, for sharing information about these Surface applications.

Savant's "Rosie" Interactive Table

Savant, an A/V home entertainment and control systems company, has announced "Rosie", a coffee table similar to Microsoft's new "Surface".

Introduction to Rosie
(after the intro, click on "coffee table")

According to information from the Savant website, the Rosie table has interactive multimedia features that "include integration and interaction with iTunes multimedia content, digital cameras, IP network cameras, business card readers, and many more digital devices on the horizon."

If anyone has information about the availability and pricing of the Rosie table, please leave a comment. I'd like to see if any of my touch-screen projects-in-process look on this display. I'm impressed by the features and sensitivity of the NextWindow Human Touch displays - I wonder if the Rosie will match the same level of quality.

At the moment, I'm working on some applications for use on touch-enabled displays/surfaces for education/literacy, cooperative learning activities, and adapted instruction and assessments for students who have special needs.