Display components, as Nick Flaherty discovers, can tilt along one or more axes and move vertically up and down.
The Tilt Display is a display surface about half the size of a standard tablet, such as an iPad, made up of individual display components that can ilt along one or more axes and move vertically up and down. This ability to ilt along multiple axes distinguishes it from previous actuatable displays.
The researchers from Bristol University in the UK, through a mobile 3 x 3 ustom built prototype, examined the design space around Tilt Displays, to nderstand users¹ initial impressions and looked at how users may interact ith these surfaces. They were also interested in the use of a mobile isplay, because of the range of opportunities for its use it offers.[Page Break]
"The ability to tilt along multiple axes distinguishes our display from revious actuatable displays. Such screen versatility opens a range of pportunities for providing an additional integrated information channel to he user," said Sriram Subramanian, Professor of Human-Computer Interaction n the Department of Computer Science's Interaction and Graphics group. "These opportunities include collaboration, terrain modelling, 3D video that's beyond auto-stereoscopic 3D and tangible gaming. We can imagine many scenarios that would benefit from the physicality offered by Tilt Displays.
However, we need to establish whether users can relate to the new experiences and advantages of using such a device."
The research found participants were very positive about the Tilt Display concept. Their first impression was to associate Tilt Displays to a new method of presenting and consuming 3D content and they linked the Tilt Display to other forms of 3D displays, such as those used in cinema.[Page Break]
The second user study examined two interaction possibilities, one for manipulating the surface of the Tilt Display and the second for conducting everyday interactions.
A set of six gestures were employed to control all facets of tilt and actuation. The second set, for the low-level interactions of panning, scaling, rotating and selection, found that users preferred on-screen gestures for planar surfaces, but mid-air versions of the same gestures for non-planar configurations. This demonstrates users' ability to 'scale up'
their knowledge of gestures to the domain of Tilt Displays.
For more information, visit www.bristol.ac.uk