The Interaction Abstract Machine (I-AM) provides a approach to plastic user interfaces which decouples the interaction (input and output) elements so they can be coherently composed in a dynamic fashion. We have developed prototypes of this system. In this framework, we propose the notion of multi-surface interaction as a unifying paradigm for reasoning about both emerging distributed UI�s and known interaction techniques such as GUIs, tangible UIs, and manipulable UIs.
Multi-surface interaction is expressed within an ontology that makes explicit the following concepts:
- The dual role (surface-instrument) that any interaction resource may play;
- The distinction between action surfaces and observation surfaces;
- The symmetrical role between natural (human) and artificial (global smart space) actors, both of them being characterised by actuators, sensors and information content;
- The spatio-temporal coupling of interaction resources with digital content; and
- The dynamic configuration of interaction resources within a topology (i.e., 3D geometrical relationships).
Based on this framework, we have designed and implemented an Interaction Abstract Machine (I-AM) that facilitates the development of distributed UI�s for global smart spaces by hiding away the heterogeneity and the management of dynamic sets of heterogeneous interaction resources.
I-AM is a software infrastructure that extends the functional coverage of current windowing systems to distributed user interfaces across dynamic sets of heterogeneous resources.
More specifically:
- It hides away the low-level details of hardware and software heterogeneity at the appropriate level of abstraction,
- It supports resource discovery in a transparent way,
- It permits the distribution of UIs across these resources.