Multi-touch Collaborative DUI to Create Mobile Services

Abstract

This chapter describes a collaborative application to support the creation of services that can be executed on mobile devices. This approach provides users with the ability to manipulate local and shared information at the same time, in the same space, using a distributed user interface. To support the collaborative creation and edition of mobile services, mobile devices were employed to handle local information related to a particular user; and a multi-touch surface was employed to handle shared information among users. The system is based on a client-server architecture in which the server is in charge of delivering information among the shared and local clients. While the shared client allows users to interact with shared elements by the means of a multi-touch surface representing the editor canvas; the local client allows users to interact with local elements containing information that differs from user to user, such as toolbars, element property editions, and so on. Thus, this system overcomes the problem derived from editing procedures in the small displays on mobile devices using extra displays. It also avoids user interface information pollution on face-to-face collaborative edition.