Ubiquitous virtual tools: Providing ad-hoc multitouch interaction on nearby surfaces

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There has been a recent surge in research prototypes and commercial products (e.g., smartphones, tablets, video game consoles) that enable people to interact with information using their fingers, hands, arms, and whole bodies. Pocket-sized handheld projectors have also recently become available, leading to the possibility that any surface in one's vicinity can be transformed into a digital display that can also sense touch. The same technologies that allow a person to use their fingers to make gestures typically require that the information be controlled on a flat, rigid, clean surface. However, our everyday environments are typically far messier. For example, tables in our environment are typically filled with paper, books, coffee mugs, and other artefacts. If a person were to project digital information within and around this mess, it is not clear how they could interact in this environment. My proposed research explores how a person can repurpose any nearby surface into a digital interactive touch display. First, I will develop the necessary hardware to build working prototypes of systems that display and sense information everywhere in our surroundings, and software toolkits for accessing this information. Second, I will design, implement, and evaluate interaction techniques that allow people to fold, bend, and otherwise manipulate digital information on these ad-hoc displays. Third, I will use this technology to perform studies about people's perception of the virtual information in these non-flat, messy environments, and use the results of these studies to inform improved designs of these interaction techniques. This program is critical to near-future computing. As multitouch displays become ubiquitous in our everyday environments, a key issue will be how to make the information they display interactive and meaningful.