Supporting collaboration in multi display environments

随着显示成本的下降和用户对更多显示空间的需求的增加，多显示环境(MDE)正变得越来越流行。无论是拥有平铺显示器的个人用户，还是配备了墙壁和桌面显示器的大型、技术丰富的会议室，人们对如何有效地设计多显示器环境以及用户最终如何与这些工作空间进行交互知之甚少。随着显示器在我们的环境中变得无处不在，我们需要仔细考虑如何在这些显示器上管理信息，以及用户(特别是协同工作的合作者)将如何与这些显示器交互。这项研究的重点是使用MDES来支持小团队、面对面的协作。我们感兴趣的是更好地了解用户如何在MDES中交互，并构建新的交互技术，使用户能够以自然、无缝的方式进行协作。在接下来的五年里，多显示器环境的普及率将大幅上升，无论是在工作场所还是在家庭中。如果不适当地理解如何有效地设计支持协同工作的多显示器系统，这些环境有可能被严重低估。当前的计算机技术限制了我们的协作交互，迫使我们适应劣质但可用的交互方式。然而，MDES的底层体系结构目前还不存在。因此，这一领域的研究将有助于塑造最终开发的系统，并影响系统和应用程序设计人员对MDES的看法。

As display costs fall and users' needs for additional display space grows, multi-display environments (MDEs) are increasing in popularity. Whether it is an individual user with tiled monitors, or a large, technology-rich conference room, equipped with wall and tabletop displays, very little is known about how to effectively design multi-monitor environments and how users may ultimately interact with these workspaces. As displays become ubiquitous in our environment, we need to think carefully about how information is managed across these displays and how users (in particular, co-located collaborators) will interact with these displays. The focus of this research is on the use of MDEs to support small-group, face-to-face collaboration. We are interested in developing a better understanding how users interact in MDEs and building new interaction techniques to enable users to collaborate in a natural, seamless manner. Over the next five years, the prevalence of multi-display environments will increase dramatically, both in the workplace and in the home. These environments have the potential to be significantly underutilized without an appropriate understanding of how to effectively design multi-display systems which support co-located collaboration. Current computer technology constrains our collaborative interactions and forces us to adapt to inferior but available interaction styles available. However, the underlying architectures for MDEs do not currently exist. Therefore, research in this area will help shape the systems that are ultimately developed and influence the way systems and application designers think about MDEs.