WaaZam!: supporting creative play at a distance in customized video environments

We present the design, and evaluation of WaaZam, a video mediated communication system designed to support creative play in customized environments. Users can interact together in virtual environments composed of digital assets layered in 3D space. The goal of the project is to support creative play and increase social engagement during video sessions of geographically separated families. We try to understand the value of customization for individual families with children ages 6-12. We present interviews with creativity experts, a pilot study and a formal evaluation of families playing together in four conditions: separate windows, merged windows, digital play sets, and customized digital environments. We found that playing in the same video space enables new activities and increases social engagement for families. Customization allows families to modify scenes for their needs and support more creative play activities that embody the imagination of the child

Multi-Display Environments for Co-Located Collaboration. Position paper for the CHI 2005 Distributed Display Environments workshop

The falling cost of displays coupled with the multitude of technologies available means that we often have access to several display devices during our daily interactions. While this increased availability of displays opens up many ne

TractorBeam: Seamless integration of local and remote pointing for tabletop displays

This paper presents a novel interaction technique for tabletop computer displays. When using a direct input device such as a stylus, reaching objects on the far side of a table is difficult. While remote pointing has been investigated for large wall displays, there has been no similar research into reaching distant objects on tabletop displays. Augmenting a stylus to allow remote pointing may facilitate this process. We conducted two user studies to evaluate remote pointing on tabletop displays. Results from our work demonstrate that remote pointing is faster than stylus touch input for large targets, slower for small distant targets, and comparable in all other cases. In addition, when given a choice, people utilized the pointing interaction technique more often than stylus touch. Based on these results we developed the TractorBeam, a hybrid point-touch input technique that allows users to seamlessly reach distant objects on tabletop displays. Key words: Input and interaction technologies, tabletop displays, user studies, pen-based UIs, quantitativ

Incidental Information Privacy and PIM

Our research investigates the privacy issues regarding information visible on personal computer displays during collaboration. Personal information management systems often generate traces of activity, both when an end user explicitly saves information and through system use. These traces of activity may then be subsequently revealed as the user interacts with the system. The revealed information may not be appropriate for viewing in a collaborative setting. This paper discusses incidental information privacy and its ties with personal information management systems. A summary of our research to date is given along with a discussion of managing the visual privacy of incidental information in web browsers and other PIM systems

Rendezvousing with location-aware devices: enhancing social coordination

Emerging technologies such as location-awareness devices have the potential to significantly impact users ’ social coordination, particularly while rendezvousing. It is important that we explore how new technologies influence social behaviours and communication in order to realize their full potential. This paper presents a field study investigating the use of mobile location-aware devices for rendezvous activities. Participants took part in one of three mobile device conditions (a mobile phone, a location-aware handheld, or both a mobile phone and a location-aware handheld) and completed three rendezvousing scenarios. The results reveal key differences in communication patterns between the mediums, as well as the potential strengths and limitations of location-aware devices for social coordination. The paper concludes with a discussion of relevant design issues drawn from observations gathered during the field study