Computerised ‘worktable’ takes the tyranny out of distance
An
innovative ‘worktable’ developed by researchers from the University of
South Australia, National ICT Australia, Sydney University, and the
Defence Science and Technology Organisation is about to change the face
of global business.
Pioneering new ways for people to work collaboratively across different environments, the Visualisation and Interaction on a Collaborative Access Table (ViCAT) takes the old notion of teleconferencing to a whole new level by allowing computer-supported cooperative work and gesture and speech recognition through a built-in computer screen.
It means many people can work simultaneously on one computer application; they can augment traditional keyboards, mice and touch pads with voice and hand movements, and can collaborate anywhere in the world via a modified video conference system.
A key researcher on the project from UniSA’s Wearable Computer Laboratory in the School of Computer and Information Science, Professor Bruce Thomas, says the technology will facilitate “faster and better decision-making.
“If we take a critical event such as Hurricane Rita where many agencies needed to talk to each other to best manage the situation, the ViCAT would allow command and control teams to have access to the same data,” Professor Thomas said.
“By looking at the same piece of information in front of them, as opposed to paper maps and the like, all parties know what’s happening and that reduces the margin of error. In crisis scenarios the technology could help to save lives.
“Once you have seen the ViCAT in action you can immediately imagine how it would benefit architects collaborating on a major building project across different locations, the military in planning strategic movements or large design projects that require input from several parties.
“When you give it a bit more thought, the applications are myriad and exciting – companies that operate across countries will be able to collaborate without flying people half way around the world; expert engineers or technicians will be able to work on many problems collaboratively in a range on industries from mining to civil projects from their offices; and global multi-site businesses will have a powerful collaborative tool for day to day operations.”
In action the ViCAT table is impressive. The full screen allows you to see several people in the room and hear conversation in real time. The table itself has a large screen presentation that allows for computer map or document files to be viewed by anyone positioned around the table and users can point to different aspects of the information with their gestures registering on other users’ tables at another location.
“This is still a prototype but we believe it will be a refined, fully functioning product within three to five years,” Professor Thomas said.
“There has been a great deal of hype about what future technologies might
do but developing applications that work and work to meet the real needs of
people in the workplace is a sophisticated and complex process. With this
project we are aiming to build a system that is adaptable and responsive and
that takes us much closer to an integration of technology and human
behaviour.”