Getting Physical - Interacting with Physical Objects in Distributed Collaboration

Due to the ongoing globalization of businesses and the collaboration occurring between geographically dispersed organizations, distributed collaborative work using computer-based support tools is becoming increasingly important. When trying to perform design work while relying heavily on the use of physical artefacts such as early mock-ups, a need to share physical objects will inevitably occur in a distributed setting. In an attempt to realize this, the authors studied a design team during design reviews in which a physical mock-up was used. The study of co-located design reviews gave valuable input to the design of a wearable conferencing unit. The system allows remote collaborators a first-person view of the mockup. The paper also discusses how the design process changed when distributed reviews were used. With the new tools, the remote engineers can share their “virtual” CAD data simultaneously with the mechanic situated at the prototype, who shares his “physical” data with the engineers. The new tools also provided support in a co-located setting, even enabling users to look behind panels and view items that are normally hidden from the user’s sight.

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