People, Pens and Computers

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Speaker
François Guimbretière
Assistant Professor, Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL), University of Maryland

When
-

Where
Newell-Simon Hall 1305 (Michael Mauldin Auditorium)

Description

Pen and paper are important aspects of our everyday life. These simple low-tech tools are easy to use, reliable, and extremely versatile. Yet, they also stand on the margins of the digital world as information gathered on paper is often difficult to manipulate in the digital realm. In this talk, I will present an overview of several projects aimed at bridging the gap between the paper and the digital world.

In the paper world, the Paper Augmented Digital Documents (PADD) system uses a digital pen (such as the Logitech io2) to capture annotations made on the printouts of a digital document. Combined with PapierCraft, a command system for paper-based interaction, PADD lets users perform operations such as copying information from a printout to their notes (either on paper or on a tablet PC), or searching for a specific word, while enjoying all the affordances of paper.

In the digital world, CrossY and Scriboli are two Tablet PC interfaces specifically designed with pen interactions in mind. CrossY demonstrated that crossing-based interfaces are not only as expressive as point and click interfaces, they also offer more flexibility and encourage command composition. Scriboli (developed in collaboration with MSR) explored new command structures to improve the fluidity of pen interactions and is particularly well adapted to creative work environments which traditionally rely heavily on pen and paper.

Together these two tracks provide a unique opportunity to better understand how paper and digital media interactions might converge in the next generation of pen computing.

Speaker's Bio

François Guimbretière is an assistant professor at the University of Maryland Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL). His main research focus is on pen computing. In the paper world, he studies how new digital pen technologies can be used to manage information captured on paper. In the digital world, he examines new designs for efficient pen-based computing.

His research interests also include information visualization and hardware design.

Host
Brad Myers