IEEE DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS ONLINE 1541-4922 © 2004 IEEE Published by the IEEE Computer Society Vol. 5, No. 1; January 2004

Virtual Table Brings Distant Loved Ones Together

Terry Costlow

People forced to live apart for a while often miss the subtle clues that tell one person how the other feels or what he or she is doing. Media Lab Europe developed a virtual table that provides insight by relaying images of what's on your table, giving another person clues to any changes in your daily life.

CONNECTING THROUGH CLUES

Researchers in Dublin, Ireland, put unique RFID tags on items that people normally place on tables, such as coffee cups, keys, and cigarettes. The networked tables have built-in displays that show a slightly enlarged and brightened image of an object when it's put on the table and fade out the object's image when it's removed.

"This gives you a sense of what's going on, providing a rhythm of the household," says Stefan Agamanolis, principal research scientist at the Human Connectedness Group.

Those clues can provide information such as whether a telephone call to the other person would be an interruption or a godsend. For example, placing either two beer mugs or a single coffee cup on the table would send a simple message that a partner or close friend could easily understand. Agamanolis notes that cameras are being used in related Media Lab projects, but the tables are far less intrusive, particularly in instances where people are sending information 24 hours a day. "People don't always want a camera transmitting images, even to family members," Agamanolis says.

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The table's current state and recent history both relay a sense of the room's rhythm. An object's history also must be easily identifiable, even at a casual glance, for the table to provide the subtle information close-knit people use to determine each other's moods.

LEAVING THE LAB

Now that researchers have proven the basics of the technology, their next step is to improve the human interface. "The next stage is to do tests to see if our visualization makes sense," Agamanolis says.

Because the project combines sensing, display technology, communications, and a hefty dose of human-interface technology, it's well-suited for the European Lab. "We have a broad mix of disciplines, in design, art, social science, and psychology," Agamanolis says.

Researchers at the Media Lab Europe, a partner with the MIT Media Lab, have been working on the project for about a year. The prototype they're using is far too expensive for anyone to consider deploying, but it seems likely that a corporation that sponsors the Media Lab projects will use some of the concepts soon. "I'm sure that within a year or two we'll see this activity leaving the lab," Agamanolis says.

A system designed for commercialization from the start could be more cost-effective, and drops in component costs could make the technology viable for a broader audience down the road.

"Five to 10 years from now, displays may be so cheap that they can be built into tabletops," Agamanolis says.

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