- Steve and his colleagues’ past research
- https://sites.cs.ucsb.edu/~holl/pubs/butz-1999-iwar.pdf
This paper explains a prototype system called EMMIE (Environment Management for Multiuser Information Environments), a collaborative augmented reality environment. The main points are as follows:
- EMMIE provides a hybrid user interface combining augmented reality (AR), traditional 2D GUI, and elements of ubiquitous computing.
- Users can manipulate virtual objects in a shared 3D virtual space, overlaid onto the physical space through a head-mounted display.
- The system supports a variety of display devices ranging from wall projection displays to PDAs, allowing for the use of the optimal device for each task.
- Drag-and-drop functionality enables object movement between 2D and 3D spaces and across different devices.
- It introduces new technologies like “privacy lamps” and “vampire mirrors” for privacy management.
- Environment management features handle dynamic participation and departure of displays, devices, and users.
- The system is implemented on the Coterie distributed platform, replicating shared object directories across multiple computers.
- While limited by current hardware technology, it serves as a useful testbed for designing future hybrid user interfaces.
- The paper concludes that by supporting collaborative work and integrating various interaction technologies, this system can create hybrid user interfaces with greater potential than the sum of their individual elements.
- Discussions on collaborative work, such as those in the lineage of Beyond being there and the Survey Paper on Collaborative Work in XR.