Using Mobile Communication Devices to Access Virtual Meeting Spaces

This contribution addresses the integration of mobile devices with limited display and interaction capabilities into a multi-user system for tele-conferencing and collaborative work. We first report on a recently conducted case study in which we used a simulation environment to investigate how a small group of geographically dispersed users can jointly solve localisation and route planning tasks when equipped with communication devices that essentially differ with regard to available input and output capabilities. We then present a system architecture that includes gateway components as interfaces between the mobile devices and one or more interactive applications. Finally, we argue that there is a high demand for automated design approaches which are able to generate information presentations that are tailored to the available presentation capabilities of particular target devices.