Multi-Touch Tables Drawing Connections Between Visitors

Designed for Acura, the Interactive Oracles are round, multi-touch, multi-user tables that draw connections between visitors as they touch the surface. The Oracles were built by George P. Johnson (GPJ) for Acura’s 2008 International Auto Show Exhibit. While originally built in 2007, the interface failed to fully utilize the multi-touch capabilities of the tables. GPJ lent one of the Oracles to the Media Design Program at the Art Center College of Design for students to explore new interaction design concepts. The bar-like padded lining seemed to induce a very casual and leisurely approach to interacting with the table, and the round shape invited many user but did not structure their relationships (i.e. the is no “head of the table” at a round table). Based on these observations I designed an interface required little investment to use (no reading or watching), but created a “wow” once a visitor touched the surface. Graphics and sounds flourish out of visitors fingers as they play with the surface. Graphics connect between hands and sliders along the edge of the table can be tossed to other visitors.

The exciting aspect of a project like this is designing an application that can be used by a dozen people simultaneously. It is a big departure from designing for a single point of input for a single moment (i.e. a mouse). The designer needs to consider how to serve up to 5 finger tips on each hand, each of which can remain pressed down on the surface for varied amount of time.

GPJ brought me on board to implement my interface and consult on the interaction design of several other projects. The final interface can be seen here or in the video above.

See the comprehensive project website here »