Collaboration on Interactive Ceilings

Abstract

In this paper we discuss how interactive ceilings may improve productivity and collaboration in office environments. The ceiling of an office offers an unobtrusive und generally unobstructed display and input area which is accessible to all persons in the room. Therefore, enhancing ceilings with input and display capabilities allows for a range of new single- and multi-user applications such as status indicators, notifications, in-house navigation and collaborative work areas. However, ergonomic constraints limit the application space. To investigate such constraints we have built a working prototype of an interactive ceiling. Currently, we are conducting a study investigating which areas on the ceiling may be used for displaying notifications and content.