Exploring the Layered Use of Transparent Display on a Large Tabletop Display

Abstract

To extend the utility of a large tabletop display, in particular, to explore interaction opportunities using space-above-tabletop, we present an exploratory prototype TransLayer, a floating layered transparent display. It uses a transparent touch display held by an extensible arm structure to make a position adjustable floating transparent layer. TransLayer creates a unique in-between interaction space above tabletop display, where both physical objects and virtual data can be visually associated. We introduce hardware and software configurations of TransLayer and describe key features and explored applications which relates to medical data, architecture and graphic editing tasks. Based on our design experience and the preliminary study result, we discuss implications for extending the tabletop interface and further improvement. This work contributes to proposing and exploring the potential of a new type of transparent interface device for the tabletop computing environment.