overview
My research on surface computing explores the use of horizontal interactive displays for a variety of entertainment, educational, and productivity applications. My Ph.D. dissertation, Supporting Effective Interaction with Tabletop Groupware, introduced novel interaction techniques and compared interface designs for supporting co-located group work around computer-augmented tables. Post-Ph.D., I continued to conduct surface research (though this is no longer my primary area of focus): key contributions include research on surface computing systems for productivity tasks, gesture elicitation methodologies, and touchscreen interactions that are accessible to blind users.
Teaching & Service
Jacob O. Wobbrock and I co-taught "Input and Interaction" at the University of Washington during spring quarter 2012. I served as program co-chair for the 2012 ACM conference on Interactive Tabletops & Surfaces (ITS 2012). I received the Lasting Impact Award at the 2016 ACM Interactive Surfaces and Spaces conference for my research on using surface computers for produtivity tasks.
Research Projects
Touchscreen Accessibility
- touch interactions for blind users [UIST 2011 paper] [ASSETS 2013 paper]
Surfaces for productivity tasks
- collaborative Web search on surfaces [CSCW 2010 paper and video] [IP&M article on surface + search design space ]
- collaborative visual analytics on surfaces [VAST 2010 paper]
- surface support for software engineering meetings (Code Space) [ITS 2011 paper] [ Video ]
- surface computing to support collaborative design teams (Pictionaire) [ CSCW 2010 paper]
- augmenting tables with mice and keyboards (FourBySix) [ UIST 2009 paper ]
- improving the precision of input on touch-tables [ CHI 2009 paper ]
- study of the usability of horizontal surfaces for active reading tasks [ Tabletop 2007 paper (Lasting Impact Award winner)]
- study of the usability of horizontal surfaces for office workers [ Tabletop 2008 paper ]
- DocuDesk, a surface system for helping office workers manage relationships between paper and digital content [ Tabletop 2008 paper ]
- Survey on current uses of interactive surfaces and directions for further research [ 2009 Tech Report ]
Educational applications of surface computing
- interfaces to promote equitable participation by students during educational group work [ IEEE CG&A paper ]
- SIDES: a tabletop game for social skills development aimed at youth with Asperger's syndrome [ CSCW 2006 paper ]
Access control and coordination on multi-user surfaces
- iDwidgets: identity-differentiating widgets [ IEEE CG&A paper ]
- Coordination Policies [ CSCW 2004 paper ]
- Techniques for document sharing on tabletop displays [ CHI 2004 paper ]
Space management on multi-user surfaces
- Drawers: hybrid tangible/virtual storage spaces for interactive tables [ Ubicomp 2006 poster ]
- TeamTag: a study comparing shared vs. distributed widget placement on tabletops [ CHI 2006 paper ]
- Individual audio channels to provide private feedback [ CSCW 2004 paper ]
Gesture interfaces and methodologies
- ShadowGuides: a technique for teaching users about available gestures and how to perform them [Tabletop 2009 paper]
- User-Defined Gestures: a gesture set (and gesture elicitation methodology) that creates gestures based on the wisdom of crowds [ CHI 2009 paper ] [ Graphics Interface 2010 paper ] [ ITS 2012 paper ] [ 2014 Interactions article ]
- Crowd-Based Elicitation Support: the Crowdlicit and Crowdsensus tools to extend user-elicitation methodologies for gesture creation using the power of crowdsourcing [ UIST 2018 paper | CHI 2019 paper | Interactions article | CHI 2021 paper ]
- Cooperative Gestures: multi-user gestural interactions for tabletop displays [ CHI 2006 paper ]
- Barehands: a system for enabling gestures on a large, wall-mounted surface [ CHI 2001 paper ]
Miscellaneous surface computing projects
- Ambient Table: a tabletop peripheral display [ Ubicomp 2004 poster ]
- DiamondSpin: a Java toolkit for creating tabletop UIs [ CHI 2004 paper ] [ free download ]
- study of the impact of group size and table size on tabletop interactions [ CSCW 2004 paper ]