Tangible Interaction in Collaborative Environments

Tangible user interfaces (TUI) promise to enable natural and intuitive interaction with digital information through the physical environment. They are not limited to the interactions of a single person, but also support collaboration among – even dislocated – groups. Technological advances make it possible to integrate sensors and actuators as well as wireless communication and processing technologies into everyday objects, and the vision of “everywhere interfaces” is coming within reach. In this report we briefly discuss the contents of the papers presented at the second international workshop on Tangible Interaction in Collaborative Environments (TICE), and summarize the main issues of the discussions. The aim of the workshop was to explore the potentials and perspectives of tangible interaction for supporting collaborative work, and it was held in conjunction with WETICE’07 in Paris, France, on June 18 2007.