Roles of Orientation in Tabletop Collaboration: Comprehension, Coordination and Communication

Abstract. In order to support co-located collaboration, many researchers are now investigating how to effectively augment tabletops with electronic displays. As far back as 1988, orientation was recognized as a significant human factors issue that must be addressed by electronic tabletop designers. As with traditional tables, when people stand or sit at different positions around a horizontal display they will be viewing the contents from different angles. One common solution to this problem is to have the software reorient objects so that a given individual can view them `right way up.' Yet is this the best approach? If not, how do people actually use orientation on tables? To answer these questions, we conducted an observational study of collaborative activity on a traditional table. Our results show that the strategy of reorienting objects to a person's view is overly simplistic: while important, it is an incomplete view of how people exploit their ability to reorient obje...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2004
• Where: CSCW
• Authors: Russell Kruger, M. Sheelagh T. Carpendale, Stacey D. Scott, Saul Greenberg
• Keywords: CSCW 2004, Electronic Tabletop Designers, Significant Human Factors, Social Sciences, Traditional Table