Tangible bits: towards seamless interfaces between people, bits and atoms
27 Mar 1997-pp 234-241
TL;DR: Tangible Bits allows users to "grasp & manipulate" bits in the center of users’ attention by coupling the bits with everyday physical objects and architectural surfaces and ambient media for background awareness.
Abstract: This paper presents our vision of Human Computer Interaction (HCI): "Tangible Bits." Tangible Bits allows users to "grasp & manipulate" bits in the center of users’ attention by coupling the bits with everyday physical objects and architectural surfaces. Tangible Bits also enables users to be aware of background bits at the periphery of human perception using ambient display media such as light, sound, airflow, and water movement in an augmented space. The goal of Tangible Bits is to bridge the gaps between both cyberspace and the physical environment, as well as the foreground and background of human activities. This paper describes three key concepts of Tangible Bits: interactive surfaces; the coupling of bits with graspable physical objects; and ambient media for background awareness. We illustrate these concepts with three prototype systems ‐ the metaDESK, transBOARD and ambientROOM ‐ to identify underlying research issues.
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TL;DR: The characteristics of augmented reality systems are described, including a detailed discussion of the tradeoffs between optical and video blending approaches, and current efforts to overcome these problems are summarized.
Abstract: This paper surveys the field of augmented reality AR, in which 3D virtual objects are integrated into a 3D real environment in real time. It describes the medical, manufacturing, visualization, path planning, entertainment, and military applications that have been explored. This paper describes the characteristics of augmented reality systems, including a detailed discussion of the tradeoffs between optical and video blending approaches. Registration and sensing errors are two of the biggest problems in building effective augmented reality systems, so this paper summarizes current efforts to overcome these problems. Future directions and areas requiring further research are discussed. This survey provides a starting point for anyone interested in researching or using augmented reality.
8,053 citations
TL;DR: A conceptual framework is presented that separates the acquisition and representation of context from the delivery and reaction to context by a context-aware application, and a toolkit is built that instantiates this conceptual framework and supports the rapid development of a rich space of context- aware applications.
Abstract: Computing devices and applications are now used beyond the desktop, in diverse environments, and this trend toward ubiquitous computing is accelerating. One challenge that remains in this emerging research field is the ability to enhance the behavior of any application by informing it of the context of its use. By context, we refer to any information that characterizes a situation related to the interaction between humans, applications, and the surrounding environment. Context-aware applications promise richer and easier interaction, but the current state of research in this field is still far removed from that vision. This is due to 3 main problems: (a) the notion of context is still ill defined, (b) there is a lack of conceptual models and methods to help drive the design of context-aware applications, and (c) no tools are available to jump-start the development of context-aware applications. In this anchor article, we address these 3 problems in turn. We first define context, identify categories of contextual information, and characterize context-aware application behavior. Though the full impact of context-aware computing requires understanding very subtle and high-level notions of context, we are focusing our efforts on the pieces of context that can be inferred automatically from sensors in a physical environment. We then present a conceptual framework that separates the acquisition and representation of context from the delivery and reaction to context by a context-aware application. We have built a toolkit, the Context Toolkit, that instantiates this conceptual framework and supports the rapid development of a rich space of context-aware applications. We illustrate the usefulness of the conceptual framework by describing a number of context-aware applications that have been prototyped using the Context Toolkit. We also demonstrate how such a framework can support the investigation of important research challenges in the area of context-aware computing.
3,095 citations
Cites background from "Tangible bits: towards seamless int..."
...…and presenting in/out information for a group of users (Salber, Dey, & Abowd, 1999); ambient information displays (Heiner, Hudson, & Tanaka, 1999; Ishii & Ullmer, 1997; Mynatt, Back, Want, Baer, & Ellis, 1998; Weiser & Brown, 1997); and providing remote awareness of others (Schmidt, Takaluoma,…...
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...... on a map and possibly indicating nearby sites of interest (Abowd et al., 1997, Bederson, 1995, Davies et al., 1998, Feiner et al., 1997, Fels et al., 1998, McCarthy & Meidel, 1999, McCarthy & Anagost, 2000); presenting a choice of printers close to the user (Schilit, Adams & Want, 1994); sensing and presenting in/out information for a group of users (Salber, Dey & Abowd, 1999); ambient information displays (Heiner, Hudson & ......
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01 Feb 2004
TL;DR: This paper suggests that the representational stance implied by conventional interpretations of “context” misinterprets the role of context in everyday human activity, and proposes an alternative model that suggests different directions for design.
Abstract: The emergence of ubiquitous computing as a new design paradigm poses significant challenges for human-computer interaction (HCI) and interaction design. Traditionally, HCI has taken place within a constrained and well-understood domain of experience—single users sitting at desks and interacting with conventionally-designed computers employing screens, keyboards and mice for interaction. New opportunities have engendered considerable interest in “context-aware computing”—computational systems that can sense and respond to aspects of the settings in which they are used. However, considerable confusion surrounds the notion of “context”—what it means, what it includes and what role it plays in interactive systems. This paper suggests that the representational stance implied by conventional interpretations of “context” misinterprets the role of context in everyday human activity, and proposes an alternative model that suggests different directions for design.
1,557 citations
TL;DR: Everyday computing is proposed, a new area of applications research, focussed on scaling interaction with respect to time, just as pushing the availiability of computing away from the traditional desktop fundamentally changes the relationship between humans and computers.
Abstract: The proliferation of computing into the physical world promises more than the ubiquitous availability of computing infrastructure; it suggest new paradigms of interaction inspired by constant access to information and computational capabilities. For the past decade, application-driven research on abiquitous computing (ubicomp) has pushed three interaction themes:natural interfaces, context-aware applications,andautomated capture and access. To chart a course for future research in ubiquitous computing, we review the accomplishments of these efforts and point to remaining research challenges. Research in ubiquitious computing implicitly requires addressing some notion of scale, whether in the number and type of devices, the physical space of distributed computing, or the number of people using a system. We posit a new area of applications research, everyday computing, focussed on scaling interaction with respect to time. Just as pushing the availiability of computing away from the traditional desktop fundamentally changes the relationship between humans and computers, providing continuous interaction moves computing from a localized tool to a constant companion. Designing for continous interaction requires addressing interruption and reumption of intreaction, representing passages of time and providing associative storage models. Inherent in all of these interaction themes are difficult issues in the social implications of ubiquitous computing and the challenges of evaluating> ubiquitious computing research. Although cumulative experience points to lessons in privacy, security, visibility, and control, there are no simple guidelines for steering research efforts. Akin to any efforts involving new technologies, evaluation strategies form a spectrum from technology feasibility efforts to long-term use studies—but a user-centric perspective is always possible and necessary
1,541 citations
Cites background from "Tangible bits: towards seamless int..."
...More recently, researchers have suggested techniques for using objects in the physical world to manipulate electronic artifacts, creating so-called graspable [Fitzmaurice et al. 1995] or tangible user interfaces [Ishii and Ullmer 1997]....
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...Ishii s work in tangible media explores using natural interfaces to support communication and background awareness [Ishii and Ullmer 1997]....
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TL;DR: The field of AR is described, including a brief definition and development history, the enabling technologies and their characteristics, and some known limitations regarding human factors in the use of AR systems that developers will need to overcome.
Abstract: We are on the verge of ubiquitously adopting Augmented Reality (AR) technologies to enhance our percep- tion and help us see, hear, and feel our environments in new and enriched ways. AR will support us in fields such as education, maintenance, design and reconnaissance, to name but a few. This paper describes the field of AR, including a brief definition and development history, the enabling technologies and their characteristics. It surveys the state of the art by reviewing some recent applications of AR technology as well as some known limitations regarding human factors in the use of AR systems that developers will need to overcome.
1,526 citations
Cites background from "Tangible bits: towards seamless int..."
...Haptic (touch) displays are discussed with the interfaces in Section 2.3, while olfactory (smell) and gustatory (taste) displays are less developed or practically non-existent AR techniques and will not be discussed in this essay....
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References
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TL;DR: Consider writing, perhaps the first information technology: The ability to capture a symbolic representation of spoken language for long-term storage freed information from the limits of individual memory.
Abstract: Specialized elements of hardware and software, connected by wires, radio waves and infrared, will soon be so ubiquitous that no-one will notice their presence.
9,073 citations
"Tangible bits: towards seamless int..." refers background or methods in this paper
...In 1991, Mark Weiser (Xerox PARC) published an article on his vision of "Ubiquitous Computing" [ 18 ], illustrating a different paradigm of computing and HCI which pushes computers into the background and attempts to make them invisible....
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...Our work is inspired by the vision of "Ubiquitous Computing" [ 18 ] and the new stream of "Augmented Reality" research [20, 7, 9, 4]. The notion of "foreground/background" [2] also has stimulated our vision....
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Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors propose that specialized elements of hardware and software, connected by wires, radio waves and infrared, will soon be so ubiquitous that no-one will notice their presence.
Abstract: Specialized elements of hardware and software, connected by wires, radio waves and infrared, will soon be so ubiquitous that no-one will notice their presence
5,041 citations
Book•
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01 Jan 1995
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors decoded the mysteries and debunks the hype surrounding bandwidth, multimedia, virtual reality, and the Internet, and suggested what being digital will mean for our laws, education, politics, and amusements -in short, for the way we live.
Abstract: From the Publisher:
Being Digital decodes the mysteries and debunks the hype surrounding bandwidth, multimedia, virtual reality, and the Internet. It forecasts technologies that will make your telephone as context-sensitive as an English butler and replace TV broadcasters with intelligent "broadcatchers" that assemble and deliver only the programming you want. And this book suggests what being digital will mean for our laws, education, politics, and amusements - in short, for the way we live.
2,792 citations
01 May 1995
TL;DR: This work introduces the concept of Graspable User Interfaces that allow direct control of electronic or virtual objects through physical handles for control, and presents a design space for Bricks which lay the foundation for further exploring and developing Graspables User Inter interfaces.
Abstract: We introduce the concept of Graspable User Interfaces that allow direct control of electronic or virtual objects through physical handles for control. These physical artifacts, which we call "bricks," are essentially new input devices that can be tightly coupled or “attached” to virtual objects for manipulation or for expressing action (e.g., to set parameters or for initiating processes). Our bricks operate on top of a large horizontal display surface known as the "ActiveDesk." We present four stages in the development of Graspable UIs: (1) a series of exploratory studies on hand gestures and grasping; (2) interaction simulations using mock-ups and rapid prototyping tools; (3) a working prototype and sample application called GraspDraw; and (4) the initial integrating of the Graspable UI concepts into a commercial application. Finally, we conclude by presenting a design space for Bricks which lay the foundation for further exploring and developing Graspable User Interfaces.
1,085 citations
"Tangible bits: towards seamless int..." refers background or methods in this paper
...Tangible Bits is also directly grounded on the previous works of ClearBoard [12] and Graspable User Interfaces [ 8 ]....
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...Bits flowing through the wires of a computer network become tangible through motion, sound, and even Figure 4 ClearBoard [12] Figure 5 Bricks [ 8 ]...
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...I n t e r f a c e s Graspable User Interfaces [ 8 ] (Fitzmaurice, Ishii & Buxton) allow direct control of virtual objects through physical handles called "bricks." Bricks can be "attached" to virtual objects, thus making virtual objects physically graspable....
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1,032 citations
"Tangible bits: towards seamless int..." refers background or methods in this paper
...RELATED WORKS Our work is inspired by the vision of "Ubiquitous Computing" [18] and the new stream of "Augmented Reality" research [20, 7, 9, 4]....
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...Augmented Reality Augmented Reality (AR) (or Computer-Augmented Environments) is a new research stream which tries to answer the question of how to integrate the "real world" and computational media [20, 7, 9, 4]....
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