Paper Reading #7 - Projected User Interface

Comments:
Comment 1
Comment 2

References:
Title: Public Issues on Projected User Interface
Authors: Ju-Chun Ko, Li-Wei Chan, and Yi-Ping Hung
Venue: CHI EA 2010, April 10-15, 2010

Summary:
In this paper, the authors discuss the issues of using portable projector systems in public places. With the advent of pico projectors that are so small that they are now being integrated into phones as well as devices such as SixthSense (pictured on the left), the authors pose questions about their use in public spaces. They begin by discussing the implications of privacy. When you use these sorts of devices in public, your projection can not only be viewed by you, but by everyone nearby, which could create awkward situations if the viewed content was personal. Additionally, if multiple people are using these projection devices, they could intrude upon each other's projection areas. Finally, the authors discuss where it is OK to project. They pose the question that even though it is possible to project onto any surface, is it legal to project onto someone else's property or even onto them correctly?

Discussion:
I found this article interesting not only because I had never heard of this SixthSense device before, but also because I never thought about the personal implications of these devices. Being able to use any surface as a giant screen would be extremely useful in many situations, but with all of these drawbacks it is clear that work needs to be done on making them usable in public.

My roommate and I had a discussion on this, and we both wondered outside of size concerns, why these devices couldn't project onto a pair of glasses. Projecting onto this closer surface would give a similar "screen size" advantage due to human perception, while also allowing personal privacy to the viewer and avoiding many of these problems.

(Image courtesy of: sigchi.org)