Whole Body Large Display Interfaces for Users and Designers

Abstract

A body-centered model of human-computer interaction holds promise to change the way both users and designers of computing systems go about their daily work. From the users' perspective, a body-centered interaction model allows them to fully capitalize on the wealth of skills that have evolved over millennia of evolution. Users can exploit their natural abilities of grasping and pointing, they can employ the power of proprioception and specialized processing in different spaces, and employ the rules of social interaction that govern everyday life. All of these things could be integrated into computing systems in such a way that interaction becomes based on our everyday knowledge. From a designer's standpoint, a body-centered model of interaction makes users the focal point of the design and implementation process. Instead of wrestling with device communication and protocols, the designer treats users as the initiators of all action. This is both a philosophical and a practical shift in process with deep ramifications.