Franks, B. et al: User Detection…
This is a pretty simple and awesome way of expanding the functionality of multi-touch tables. This information allows these surfaces to become more integrated into our world by reacting to presence. I wonder if this technology could be used in applications that actually encourage users to move around the space.
Streitz et al: Ambient Displays…
First off, I want to say that while the people in the video are the most stylish we’ve seen so far, and the ambient music was pretty sweet, there is an inconsistency. They try to go for realism with the people in a workspace walking by using the Hello.Wall, but none of the people walking by have pockets big enough to hold the ViewPort!
Ok, now to be more serious. I had a hard time dealing with this paper. While I felt like the ideas they were working with were very interesting, I felt that none of the application of those ideas was worthwhile. On top of this, I felt that even the descriptions of how the ambient display could be used were lacking. That being said, the idea of using an ambient display to provide individuals with information about the world around them is very intriguing. I specifically liked this Wolfgang Ulrich quote:
“The more blurred a picture is, the more likely it will serve as a projection surface for the thoughts of its observer.”
I think that while the blurred information provided by the display is useful, having to pull out a mobile device to gain more information is not. I think that the display developed by Vogel et al. provides more usable possibilities for the future of ambient displays, allowing the user to gain more information by moving closer to the display. This does not mean that all displays need to be full computer touch screens. It just means that if a display is going to use a large, low resolution light array, it needs to be careful about its limitations in communication. For example, I think using color to express the current emotional tension in a workplace would work better than location of lights.
