An Experimental Hybrid User Interface for Collaboration
Autor: Andreas Butz and Tobias Höllerer and Clifford Beshers and Steven Feiner and Blair MacIntyre
Herausgeber:
We present EMMIE (Environment Management for Multi-user Information Environments), an experimental user interface to a collaborative
augmented environment. Users share a 3D virtual space and manipulate virtual objects representing information to be discussed. This approach not only
allows for cooperation in a shared physical space, but also addresses tele-collaboration in physically separate but virtually shared spaces. We refer to
EMMIE as a hybrid user interface because it combines a variety of different technologies and techniques, including virtual elements such as 3D widgets,
and physical objects such as tracked displays and input devices. See-through head-worn displays overlay the virtual environment on the physical
environment. Our research prototype includes additional 2D and 3D displays, ranging from palm-sized to wall-sized, allowing the most appropriate one
to be used for any task. Objects can be moved among displays (including across dimensionalities) through drag & drop. In analogy to 2D window
managers, we describe a prototype implementation of a shared 3D environment manager that is distributed across displays, machines, and operating
systems. We also discuss two methods we are exploring for handling information privacy in such an environment.
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