Remote collaboration on desk-sized displays

Work on remote collaboration has often focused on the person space created by a conventional videoconference where the participants see each other's faces, but we argue that a task space containing shared visual information is more important for most tasks. Trends in display technology mean that large visual task spaces can be created to maximize the shared context between collaborators. We have created a system called the Escritoire that presents users with a desk-sized projected display with bimanual input that allows documents and images to be arranged and modified by multiple remote collaborators. We describe the software architecture, the protocol that is used between the client and server programs, and the pen traces we have added to allow participants to gesture to each other in the large visual space to enrich their communication. Our user trials have shown that participants were able to use the system with a minimum of training, and found the traces useful in the collaborative setting. In future we will be connecting three or more sites together to explore the issues that arise with multi-party interaction on large shared desks. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.