Roomware: Toward the Next Generation of Human- Computer Interaction Based on an Integrated Design of Real and Virtual Worlds

The next generation of human-computer interaction (HCI) is determined by a number of new contexts and challenges that have evolved during the last five to ten years and will be evolving more rapidly in the next five to ten years. They are rooted in new, emerging technologies as well as in new application areas asking for new approaches and visions of the future beyond the year 2000. It is not the intention of this chapter to give a comprehensive account of all relevant new contexts. We focus on selected areas complementing other contributions in this book. There is no doubt that new developments in the fields of multimedia, hypertext /hypermedia (especially in their popular versions as World Wide Web-applications), three-dimensional representations, and virtual reality technology will have a great impact on the type of issues HCI has to address and on how interfaces will look in the future. Taken those developments as given, we present an approach and a framework that—at least so far—has not become a mainstream orientation for guiding design and development of the next generation of human-computer interaction. We are aware of the fact that there are related attempts, and we describe them. Nevertheless, there is still an indispensable need for a comprehensive framework. According to our view, the following four areas have to be integrated into an “umbrella” framework: 25

[1]  J. van Leeuwen,et al.  Cooperative Buildings: Integrating Information, Organization, and Architecture , 1998, Lecture Notes in Computer Science.

[2]  Judith S. Olson,et al.  Groupwork close up: a comparison of the group design process with and without a simple group editor , 1993, TOIS.

[3]  P. Tandler.  Architecture of BEACH : The Software Infrastructure for Roomware Environments , 2000 .

[4]  Jun Rekimoto,et al.  Multiple-Computer User Interfaces: A Cooperative Environment Consisting of Multiple Digital Devices , 1998, CoBuild.

[5]  Eric Saund.  Bringing the Marks on a Whiteboard to Electronic Life , 1999, CoBuild.

[6]  Norbert A. Streitz,et al.  Anforderungen an interaktive Kooperationslandschaften für kreatives Arbeiten und erste Realisierungen , 1998, D-CSCW.

[7]  Sidney Fels,et al.  Reactive Environments: Throwing Away Your Keyboard and Mouse , 1997 .

[8]  Daniel G. Bobrow,et al.  Beyond the chalkboard: computer support for collaboration and problem solving in meetings , 1988, CACM.

[9]  Jun Rekimoto,et al.  Pick-and-drop: a direct manipulation technique for multiple computer environments , 1997, UIST '97.

[10]  Mark Weiser.  The Invisible Interface: Increasing the Power of the Environment through Calm Technology , 1998, CoBuild.

[11]  Norbert A. Streitz,et al.  i-LAND: an interactive landscape for creativity and innovation , 1999, CHI '99.

[12]  K Sloan,et al.  The hand that rocks the cradle. , 1987, Film History.

[13]  Hiroshi Ishii,et al.  mediaBlocks: physical containers, transports, and controls for online media , 1998, SIGGRAPH.

[14]  Donald A. Norman,et al.  The invisible computer , 1998 .

[15]  Sara A. Bly,et al.  Media spaces: bringing people together in a video, audio, and computing environment , 1993, CACM.

[16]  Greg Welch,et al.  The office of the future: a unified approach to image-based modeling and spatially immersive displays , 1998, SIGGRAPH.

[17]  G. W. Teuscher.  The hand that rocks the cradle... , 1988, ASDC journal of dentistry for children.

[18]  Hiroshi Ishii,et al.  Tangible bits: towards seamless interfaces between people, bits and atoms , 1997, CHI.

[19]  Jun Rekimoto,et al.  Augmented surfaces: a spatially continuous work space for hybrid computing environments , 1999, CHI '99.

[20]  Norbert A. Streitz,et al.  DOLPHIN: integrated meeting support across local and remote desktop environments and LiveBoards , 1994, CSCW '94.

[21]  Hiroshi Ishii,et al.  Ambient Displays: Turning Architectural Space into an Interface between People and Digital Information , 1998, CoBuild.

[22]  Jörg M. Haake,et al.  Designing object-oriented synchronous groupware with COAST , 1996, CSCW '96.

[23]  Thomas P. Moran,et al.  Tivoli: an electronic whiteboard for informal workgroup meetings , 1993, INTERCHI.

[24]  Wendy E. Mackay,et al.  Computer-Augmented Environments: Back to the Real World - Introduction to the Special Issue. , 1993 .

[25]  James H. Aylor,et al.  Computer for the 21st Century , 1999, Computer.

[26]  Norbert A. Streitz,et al.  Roomware for Cooperative Buildings: Integrated Design of Architectural Spaces and Information Spaces , 1998, CoBuild.

[27]  Ronald M. Baecker,et al.  Readings in Groupware and Computer-Supported Cooperative Work: Assisting Human-Human Collaboration , 1992 .

[28]  Jacques Wainer,et al.  Groupware and computer supported cooperative work , 1999 .

[29]  Norbert A. Streitz,et al.  Does “roomware” matter ? , 1997 .

[30]  J. van Leeuwen,et al.  Cooperative Buildings. Integrating Information, Organizations, and Architecture , 1999, Lecture Notes in Computer Science.

[31]  Jay F. Nunamaker,et al.  Electronic meeting systems: ten years of lessons learned , 1995 .

[32]  Hiroshi Ishii,et al.  Bricks: laying the foundations for graspable user interfaces , 1995, CHI '95.

[33]  Norbert A. Streitz,et al.  Passage: Physical Transportation of Digital Information in Cooperative Buildings , 1999, CoBuild.