A tangible interface for organizing information using a grid

The task of organizing information is typically performed either by physically manipulating note cards or sticky notes or by arranging icons on a computer with a graphical user interface. We present a new tangible interface platform for ting discrete pieces of abstract information, which attempts to combine the benefits of each of these two alternatives into a single system. We developed interaction techniques and an example application for organizing conference papers. We assessed the effectiveness of our system by experimentally comparing it to both graphical and paper interfaces. The results suggest that our tangible interface can provide a more effective means of organizing, grouping, and manipulating data than either physical operations or graphical computer interaction alone. Keywords Tangible user interfaces, physical interaction, computersupported cooperative work, sensing board, conference planning, scheduling, direct manipulation, experiment.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2002
• Where: CHI
• Authors: Robert J. K. Jacob, Hiroshi Ishii, Gian Pangaro, James Patten
• Keywords: CHI 2002, Graphical User Interface, Human Computer Interaction, Tangible Interface Platform, Tangible User Interfaces