Information Layout and Interaction on Virtual and Real Rotary Tables Hideki Koike, Shintaro Kajiwara, Kentaro Fukuchi Graduate School of Information Systems University of Electro-Communications 1-5-1, Chofugaoka, Chofu Tokyo 182-8585, Japan koike@acm.org, {kaji, fukuchi}@vogue.is.uec.ac.jp Yoichi Sato Institute of Industrial Science University of Tokyo 4-6-1, Komaba, Meguro-ku Tokyo 153-8505, Japan ysato@iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp Abstract Many tabletop systems have been developed, but few of them deal with the problems of visualizing and manipulat- ing a large amount of information such as files on a table- top that is physically limited in size. In order to address this issue, we developed a rotary table system. The system rec- ognizes users’ hand gestures, and the users can rotate the table virtually. The table acts as a scroll wheel, and users can see a great deal of information by scrolling the table. We investigated three layout methods: sequential, classifi- cation, and spiral. We investigated these on the system and conducted user studies. Moreover, we also developed a real rotary table by using a roller bearing and a round table- top. Then, we conducted comparative experiments on the usability and intuitiveness of the two rotary tables. 1 Introduction Recently, many tabletop systems have been developed. There are various implementations for such tabletop sys- tems. Some systems use LCD projectors to display images onto the tabletop. Other systems use LCD displays as a tabletop by placing them horizontally. One of the advantages of such tabletop systems is that they are suitable for collaborative work where people sur- round the table and discuss each other’s views. In a small meeting, vertical screens are often used to display informa- tion that can be shared by attendees. However, since the attendees have to look at the screen and cannot see others’ faces, it is relatively difficult to establish good communica- tion. Second, when someone wants to point at the informa- tion on the screen, he or she often needs to point remotely with a laser. Third, the displayed information can be manip- ulated by only one person, and other people cannot control the screen. On the other hand, in a meeting with a tabletop system, since the people can discuss the topic displayed on the table while seeing other people’s faces, it is easier to commu- nicate with each other. Each attendee can point at the in- formation on the table, for example, with his or her finger. Moreover, each attendee can manipulate the information on the table and control the display. However, there are some issues in connection with table- top systems. The first is display direction of the informa- tion. Since users surround the table and see from different directions, some people cannot see the information from the right direction. Another issue in the tabletop systems is how to display and manipulate more information than can be dis- played on the table at one time. This paper describes a design and implementation of tabletop systems that display information in a circular area that can be rotated by users. By rotating the table, users surrounding the table can see the information from the right direction as needed. The table also provides a virtual scroll capability that is designed for a round-top table. We de- veloped two variations of such a round-top table. One is a virtual rotary table and the other is a real rotary table. We conducted comparative experiments to evaluate the usabil- ity and intuitiveness of these tables. 2 Related Work There are a number of works on tabletop systems such as [6, 14, 15]. Some of these are intended to be used for collaborative work. In this paper, we also focus on systems that are intended to be used for collaboration. Augmented Surfaces [12] is an augmented tabletop sys- tem for collaboration. It enables users to exchange their digital files seamlessly via tabletop. It also demonstrates the relationship of the tabletop to room design. However, the article does not discuss how to visualize a large number of files using the tabletop. Second Annual IEEE International Workshop on Horizontal Interactive Human-Computer System 0-7695-3013-3/07 $25.00 © 2007 IEEE DOI 10.1109/TABLETOP.2007.31 95