Workshop Summary of Cross-Surface 2016 at ISS2016
The third Cross-Surface workshop at ISS2016 in Niagara Falls, Canada was again a great success. We thank all the participants for their great talks and discussions, and also thanks Michael Nebeling for this inspiring tutorial
In this workshop, we reviewed and discussed open issues, technical challenges and conceptual models for multi-device spatial or proxemic interaction. We brought together researchers, students and practitioners working on technical infrastructures, studies and designs of spatial interfaces, and domain specific multi-device applications that use space as a unit of analysis. We focused specifically on analysing how such interfaces, tools and tracking technology can be deployed “in the wild”. We discussed the current state of cross-device systems, identified application domains and enabling technologies for cross-surface interactions in the wild, and established a research community to develop effective strategies for successful design of cross-device interactions. More specifically, we discussed:
- Devices, Connections and Spatial Interactions: we discussed open issues with regards to lack of definitions, concepts and principles for cross-device computing, as well as technical challenges related to tracking infrastructures, cross-device information systems, and programming challenges.
- Device, Sensemaking and Collaboration: we discussed issues around form factor, content sharing, connections between devices, but also diverse users and application domains that could leverage cross-surface technology.
Please find more details about the workshop, in the submitted proposal.
Program
08:00 Registration
09:00 Tutorial: “Cross-Device Interfaces: Existing Research, Current Tools, Outlook“ (Michael Nebeling)
10:30 Coffee Break
11.00 Topic 1: Combining Devices (Steven Houben)
Paper 1: Discussing the State of the Art for “in the wild” Mobile Device Localization
Paper 2: A Proposal for a Taxonomy to Survey the State-of-the-Art of Multi-Device Technologies
Paper 3: Device Orientation Sensors for Pairing and Spatial Awareness in the Wild
Paper 4: Combining Physical and Social Proximity for Device Pairing
11:45 Topic 2: Devices and Collaboration (Jo Vermeulen)
Paper 1: A Tool for Multi-Surface Collaborative Sketching
Paper 2: Considering Collaboration in ʔeləw̓k̓ʷ — Belonging
Paper 3: Designing Multi-Surface Environments to Support Collaborative Sensemaking
Paper 4: Just Scratching the Surface, the Long Road to Effective Cross-Display Interaction
12:30 Lunch
13:30 Interactive sessions (Nicolai Marquardt)
15:00 Coffee break
15:30 Topic 3: Spatial Interactions (Johannes Schöning)
Paper 1: Using Low Cost Multi-Sensory Output Cues to Support Proxemics and Kinesics Across Heterogeneous Systems
Paper 2: Towards Interaction Around Unmodified Camera-equipped Mobile Devices
Paper 3: Interactions in a Human-Scale Immersive Environment: the CRAIVE-Lab
16:30 Closing (Steven Houben and Johannes Schöning)
18:00 ISS Welcome Reception
Keynote

“XDUI Tutorial“
In this tutorial, I will describe key technical and design challenges of developing cross-device interfaces, which are not only able to adapt to a wide variety of device characteristics and user preferences, but can actually migrate a user’s tasks from one device to another and even distribute the interface between multiple devices jointly used by one or more users. Starting with a review of the cross-device design concepts, authoring tools and interaction techniques presented in the ISS and larger HCI literature, I will give a comprehensive overview of the state of the art. I will then analyze the current tools for design and development of cross-device interfaces, and present one of these tools, XDBrowser, in detail. Participants will get hands-on experience with designing cross-device versions of existing interfaces using such authoring tools created for non-technical users. Finally, I will discuss open issues and provide an outlook based on the results from recent cross-device workshops I co-organized or participated in at CHI, EICS, and DIS.
Micheal Nebeling is an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan School of Information, where he lead the Information Interaction Lab. They study the next generation of user interfaces, as well as the methods and tools to create them. With the goal of making interfaces easier to use and to create, their research benefits both users and designers, and allows more users to be designers.
List of accepted papers
- Combining Physical and Social Proximity for Device Pairing
Maria Husmann, Sivaranjini Chithambaram and Moira Norrie
ETH Zurich - Discussing the State of the Art for “in the wild” Mobile Device Localization
Tom Horak, Ulrich von Zadow, Matthias Kalms and Raimund Dachselt
Technische Universität Dresden - A Proposal for a Taxonomy to Survey the State-of-the-Art of Multi-Device Technologies
Roman Rädle a, Clemens N. Klokmose a and Hans-Christian Jetter b
a Aarhus University
b University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria - Interactions in a Human-Scale Immersive Environment: the CRAIVE-Lab
Gyanendra Sharma, Jonas Braasch and Richard Radke
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - A Tool for Multi-Surface Collaborative Sketching
Jorge Luis Pérez Medina and Jean Vanderdonckt
Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain Interaction Lab - Device Orientation Sensors for Pairing and Spatial Awareness in the Wild
Jens Emil Grønbæk a and Kenton O’Hara b
a Aarhus University
b Microsoft Research - Using Low Cost Multi-Sensory Output Cues to Support Proxemics and Kinesics Across Heterogeneous Systems
Rajiv Khadka ab, James Money b and Amy Banic ab
a University of Wyoming
b Idaho National Laboratory - Designing Multi-Surface Environments to Support Collaborative Sensemaking
Leila Homaeian, James Wallace and Stacey Scott
University of Waterloo - Considering Collaboration in ʔeləw̓k̓ʷ — Belonging
Reese Muntean
Simon Fraser University - Towards Interaction Around Unmodified Camera-equipped Mobile Devices
Jens Grubert a, Eyal Ofek b, Michel Pahud b, Matthias Kranz c, and Dieter Schmalstieg d
a Coburg University
b Microsoft Research
c University of Passau
d Graz University of Technology - Just Scratching the Surface, the Long Road to Effective Cross-Display Interaction
Narges Mahyar a, Kellogg Booth b, Cynthia Girling b and Ronald Kellett b
a University of California
b University of British Columbia
Pictures
Outcomes
Based on the work done and the discussion at the workshops, we see three main outcomes:
- Material and research projects that can be submitted to our special issue on INTERACTING ACROSS SURFACES: Multi-Device Ecologies “In the Wild” in the journal of Personal and Ubiquitous Computing
- A list of topics, ideas, and challenges for future work in the space of bring-your-own-device systems and technology.
- A broad interest in a 4th Cross-Surface Workshop or Symposium. More info coming soon!