Supporting offline activities on interactive surfaces

Abstract

This paper argues that inherent support for offline activities -- activities that are not sensed by the system -- is one of strongest benefits of tangible interaction over more traditional interface paradigms. By conducting two studies with single and paired users on a simple tangible tabletop scheduling application, this paper explores how tabletop interfaces could be designed to better support such offline activities. To focus its exploration, it looks at offline activities in terms of how they support cognitive work, such as aiding exploration of problem spaces or lowering task complexity. This paper concludes with insights relating to the form, size, and location for spaces that afford offline actions, and also the design of tangible tokens themselves.