Semiautomatic and User-Centered Orientation of Digital Artifacts on Multi-touch Tabletops

Abstract : The orientation of objects on tables is of fundamental importance for the coordination, communication and proper understanding of content in group work. Similarly, the roles of orientation have to be taken into account when implementing software for multi-touch tabletops. This paper describes a combined approach to help with the orientation of artifacts, composed of both automatic and manual orientation methods. Using a custom test application, this study investigates the effects of automatic orientation of artifacts towards users.