Experimental platform for developing interactive surface computers to support complex, time-critical teamwork

尽管计算机在现代工作环境中普及，但人们在面对面会议中打印报告、图表和其他数据以促进讨论和决策仍然是司空见惯的事情。在时间或生命至关重要的情况下，例如危机应对和安全和防御，必须经常根据快速变化的信息做出决策。在这些环境中，决策者需要直接访问当前信息，并且必须能够与附近的同事分享这些信息。交互式大屏幕显示器的最新发展，如微软的交互式桌面显示器Surface，现在使人们能够在协作活动中与最新的数字信息（如地图、文档和传感器数据）进行交互和共享。然而，为这些显示系统设计有效的界面是具有挑战性的，因为它们的尺寸大，共享输入空间，并且在桌面系统的情况下，水平显示方向。所要求的设备将用于支持一项研究计划，以解决这些系统缺乏合适的接口和相关软件应用的问题。这项研究计划将有助于改进交互式、多用户显示系统的软件用户界面。它还将提高我们对交互式墙和桌面系统如何在复杂、时间紧迫的任务领域（如军事指挥和控制以及应急响应）中有效利用的理解。通过这项研究，学生将在协作技术设计和实证研究方法的训练。这些技能对于为国防、医疗保健、教育、软件和游戏开发等高度协作的工作环境开发信息技术至关重要。

Though computers proliferate in modern work environments, it is still commonplace for people to print off reports, charts, and other data to facilitate discussions and decision-making in face-to-face meetings. In time- or life-critical situations, such as crisis response and security and defence, decisions must often be made based on rapidly changing information. In these settings, decision-makers need direct access to current information and must be able to share this information with nearby colleagues. Recent developments in interactive, large-screen displays, such as Microsoft's interactive tabletop display, called Surface, now enable people to interact with and share up-to-date digital information, such as maps, documents, and sensor data, during collaborative activities. However, designing effective interfaces for these display systems is challenging due to their large size, shared input space, and, in the case of a tabletop system, horizontal display orientation. The requested equipment will be used to support a research program that addresses the lack of suitable interfaces and associated software applications for these systems. This research program will contribute improved software user interfaces for interactive, multi-user display systems. It will also improve our understanding of how interactive wall and tabletop systems can be effectively utilized in the context of complex, time-critical task domains, such as military command and control, and emergency response. Through this research, students will be trained in collaborative technology design and empirical research methods. These skills are critical for developing information technologies for highly collaborative work environments, such as defence, healthcare, education, and software and game development.