1) The document summarizes a student project exploring the use of tabletop computers for collaborative work. 2) Research included studying precedent applications, traditional tabletop practices, and the evolution of tabletop computers. Interviews found face-to-face collaboration beneficial for discussion, planning, and consensus. 3) A prototype was developed for task assignment on a Microsoft Surface tabletop. Design considerations included public/private work areas and representing tasks as movable "cards" to leverage benefits of both virtual and face-to-face collaboration.

1. []
chayan deb
New Media Design
2010-12
hci research
Bangalore
March-July 2012

3. today’s roadmap
Project Initiation, Research, Connecting
Design Development the dots
Prototype Conclusion

4. motivation
1. Multi-Touch Table from locally sourced
materials
2. Interactive Installation using Gesture
Recognition

5. project brief
Study and understand the emerging field
of Natural User Interfaces and design
interactions for probable application for
industrial / enterprise users.

6. Understanding NUI Problem Finding
Tabletop Computers “The Computer is Personal”

7. direction
Tabletop Computers
Commercially Available Lesser Explored
Education
Collaborative work CSCW
Entertainment
Office Environment
Hospitality
Multi-touch capability Table-like form factor FtF / CM
Large screen real estate Object Recognition Communication

8. research plan
Research Question
Precedent Studies
Secondary Research
Interviews
Research Reflections

9. research question
1. Explore properties of Tabletop Computer
to know which property can be leveraged
upon maximum in an office scenario.
2. In what office scenarios face-to-face
collaboration is absolutely necessary?
What properties of face-to-face
communication make them so?

10. precedent studies
1. Commercial Tabletop Computer
applications: Sonicspree, The Real Estate Agent
2. Commercial Project Management
packages: Microsoft Project

11. secondary research
1. Types of tables in collaboration
Tables with different sizes have different purpose:
Meeting Table
Collaboration Table
Ambient Table

12. secondary research
1. Types of tables in collaboration
2. Traditional tabletop work practices
Turn-taking
Orientation of items
Personal & Private Space

13. secondary research
1. Types of tables in collaboration
2. Traditional tabletop work practices
3. Evolution of Tabletop Computers
1992-Now
From lab prototypes to real-world applications
From single-touch to multi-touch and tangibility
From projection to direct-display technology

14. secondary research
1. Types of tables in collaboration
2. Traditional tabletop work practices
3. Evolution of Tabletop Computers
4. Computer-mediated communication vs.
Face-to-face communication
Reaching consensus
Perception of Task
Perception of colleague
Intent of colleague

15. interview
project management
becomes a way of life it ultimately comes down to a
meeting !
my point is that if task assignment anyways,
happens in the face-to-face meeting...then
almost all collaborative activities at
what is the point iterating it over the
some point or other involve face-to-face
network .
collaboration
virtual is virtual
social factors come
into play many tasks are inter-related and
there are lot of dependencies
among the more conventional project
management tasks...I think the ones which
involve collaboration are the ones which sense of seriousness
are most challenging
if someone means what
he or she is saying

16. research reflection
1. Explore properties of Tabletop Computer to know which
property can be leveraged upon maximum in an office
scenario.
Multi-touch capability
Large screen real estate
Table-like form factor
Object Recognition

17. research reflection
2. In what office scenarios face-to-face collaboration is
absolutely necessary? What properties of face-to-face
communication make them so?
FtF communication is required in places
which require discussion and planning.
FtF is effective in disseminating task
related information and in reaching
consensus.
In FtF communication, the participants
become aware of each other’s intent.

18. re-evaluation
Tabletop Computers
Commercially Available Lesser Explored
Education
Entertainment Collaborative work CSCW Interviews
Hospitality Office Environment Task
Assignment
Multi-touch capability Table-like form factor FtF / CM
Large screen real estate Object Recognition Communication

19. re-evaluation
The aim of the project is to:
1. Study Tabletop Computers as an emerging area in Natural
User Interfaces, understand and build on its distinctive
properties like its horizontal form factor and multi-touch
abilities.
2. Understand advantages of face-to-face communication over
computer-mediated communication.
3. Design for a Task Assignment application on the Tabletop
Computer which could leverage on advantages of FtF
communication.

20. idea generation

22. design goals
1. To get the best of “meeting table” and “collaboration table”
on the table meant for task assignment.
2. To leverage on the “social” benefits of FtF communication
and “productivity” benefits of CM communication in the
design for human-human interaction and human-computer
interaction during task assignment on tabletop computer.
3. To bring the task assignment activity back on table and help
users reach consensus on task assignment activities faster.

23. design considerations
& decisions
1. Public & Private Information
Division of work surface for personal
and group activity
Release

24. design considerations
& decisions
1. Public & Private Information
Relocate

25. design considerations
& decisions
1. Public & Private Information
Reorient

26. design considerations
& decisions
1. Public & Private Information
Resize

27. design considerations
& decisions
1. Public & Private Information
2. Managing Display Elements
Replicated controls over centralized controls:
Ease of collaboration
Usability
Usage of screen real-estate
User preference

28. design considerations
& decisions
1. Public & Private Information
2. Managing Display Elements
3. Occlusion
Address right-handed occlusion:
270o menu
Multi-level sub-menus

29. design considerations
& decisions
1. Public & Private Information
2. Managing Display Elements
3. Occlusion
4. Democracy
Address the hierarchy issue in FtF discussion:
All tasks are independently
represented as cards

30. design considerations
& decisions
1. Public & Private Information
2. Managing Display Elements
3. Occlusion
4. Democracy
5. Metaphors Attempt to make each task cards
as “full metaphor”

31. design considerations
& decisions
1. Public & Private Information
2. Managing Display Elements
3. Occlusion
4. Democracy
5. Metaphors Attempt to retain the feel of working with
Skeuomorphs
6.
physical documents on a table

32. hardware
Samsung SUR40 with Microsoft PixelSense
Popularly called Microsoft Surface 2.0

33. software
SDK for Microsoft Surface 2.0
Microsoft Visual Studio 2010
# C#

34. prototype

35. connecting the dots ...

36. 1. Why Microsoft Surface tabletop computer?

37. 1. Why Microsoft Surface tabletop computer?
2. Why Task Assignment?

38. 1. Why Microsoft Surface tabletop computer?
2. Why Task Assignment?
3. Why ‘tasks’ as ‘cards’?

39. 1. Why Microsoft Surface tabletop computer?
2. Why Task Assignment?
3. Why ‘tasks’ as ‘cards’?
4. Why only 2 login windows on Task Assignment application start-
up?

40. 1. Why Microsoft Surface tabletop computer?
2. Why Task Assignment?
3. Why ‘tasks’ as ‘cards’?
4. Why only 2 login windows on Task Assignment application start-up?
5. Why a specific arrangement of information on task cards?

41. 1. Why Microsoft Surface tabletop computer?
2. Why Task Assignment?
3. Why ‘tasks’ as ‘cards’?
4. Why only 2 login windows on Task Assignment application start-up?
5. Why a specific arrangement of information on task cards?
6. Why task cards are scattered and not arranged?

42. analysis
1. Comparative Study
2. Heuristic Evaluation

43. conclusion
1. Can be used as a platform to gauge project
development.
2. Learning as a Designer, Researcher and as a
Person

44. thank you