Collaboration in Digitalized Environment: multitouch as a boundary Object

New devices for the interaction between humans and computers open undiscovered opportunities for designers and organizational researchers. One of those is the multi-touch technology: without mouse and keyboard, the display recognizes simultaneous multiple fingers pressure from various users, unlike its precursor touchscreen which detects only one touch pressure. Like many other participative tools it has the problem to be used outside the entertainment domain. I consider multi-touch technology as a hyper-tool that enhances collaborative creativity for organizational innovation. Its features put aside the previous known interactions and permit a more natural and physical gesture-based communication. They also allow participative sessions where organizational actors can work together to create a common and shared interpretation of the real. Reviewing situated and contextual uses of multi-touch devices, like the CityWall and the Storytable cases, I propose a study perspective to start a close investigation of the artefact present and of the future affordances.