WaddleWalls: Room-scale Interactive Partitioning System using a Swarm of Robotic Partitions

Abstract

We propose WaddleWalls, a room-scale interactive partitioning system using a swarm of robotic partitions that allows occupants to interactively reconfigure workspace partitions to satisfy their privacy and interaction needs. The system can automatically arrange the partitions' layout designed by the user on demand. The user specifies the target partition's position, orientation, and height using the controller's 3D manipulations. In this work, we discuss the design considerations of the interactive partition system and implement WaddleWalls' proof-of-concept prototype assembled with off-the-shelf materials. We demonstrate the functionalities of WaddleWalls through several application scenarios in an open-planned office environment. We also conduct an initial user evaluation that compares WaddleWalls with conventional wheeled partitions, finding that WaddleWalls allows effective workspace partitioning and mitigates the physical and temporal efforts needed to fulfill ad hoc social and privacy requirements. Finally, we clarify the feasibility, potential, and future challenges of WaddleWalls through an interview with experts.