THE IMPACT OF TANGIBLE USER INTERFACES ON COLLABORATIVE DESIGN

Developments in tabletop systems that combine Augmented Reality and tangible user interfaces on a horizontal display surface provide a new kind of physical and digital environment for collaborative design. The combination of tangible interaction with Augmented Reality display technique changes the dynamics of communication and has an impact on designers ’ perception of 3D models. We are studying the effects of tangible user interfaces on designers ’ spatial cognition and design communication in order to identify how such tabletop systems can be used to provide better support for collaborative design. Specifically, we compare tangible user interfaces with graphical user interfaces in a collaborative design task with a focus on characterising the impact these user interfaces have on spatial cognition. KEY WORDS augmented reality, tabletop system, collaborative design, spatial cognition