We have seen them in many familiar places – the ubiquitous surface computing interfaces that show us the changing weather and events with the swipe of a hand over the surface of a large vertical display.
Surface computing – now several years in use – has a horizontal kin in the growing number of tabletop interfaces in which one or more people can use its touchscreen interface to manipulate onscreen objects such as photo galleries, videos, maps, etc.
In the world of audio – and more specifically music – there are tabletop interfaces that are used to create and perform digital music.
On screen icons or tabletop physical blocks allow point and click and drag and drop emulations of slider and knob control on analog synthesizers.
What is especially promising about these types of tabletop computing applications is that their use can be highly participatory and collaborative.
As a music synthesizer enthusiast, one of my favorite tabletop music devices is the Reactable. Keep in mind that the performances in these videos are improvised by its designers from Barcelona.
Reactable Systems is a spin-off company of the Pompeu Fabra University and is collaborating with its Music Technology Group, one of the worlds largest research labs in music technology.
Here is a reactable (solo) music performance from the Sonar 2010 Festival in Barcelona:
Reactable Live! At Sonar Barcelona 2010 from Reactable on Vimeo.
Although the tabletop is designed for live performances, this interface design would have interesting applications for online collaborative learning and performance using visual icons instead of physical blocks.
What are your thoughts about the tabletop interface for live or online collaborative multimedia applications?
