Iterative design of tabletop GUIs using physics simulation

Abstract

Ubiquitous computing and ambient intelligence point out the issue of usable soft- and hardware. Gadgets without manuals are crucial to the success of the vision of many computers per person. When we talk about seamless interaction, the gap between mental models provoked by the computer interface and the software below is a main indicator for ease-of-use. In this paper we discuss a desktop metaphor based on physics simulation as an antipole to symbolic iconic desktops nowadays. A physics-based user interface combined with gestures and touch technology promises a smaller gap between mental model and computer system for certain application areas. Furthermore we present a user-centered design process for rapid development of physics-based applications, which was used to create a prototype on basis of our tabletop application framework DynAmbient. Our approach enabled us to improve the usability of the application through several fast user participatory development iterations.