eSpace: integrating novel displays and devices for augmenting collaborative transactions

Recent technological developments have provided us with opportunities for novel ways of mediating and supporting different user activities by interconnecting different devices for distributing, broadcasting and accessing information. However, little is known about how best to design such ‘shared information spaces’ to augment current work practice and promote new forms of cooperative access to information. Here we report development of one such arrangement, eSpace, designed for a situation where a customer, in a travel agency, is trying to find out about a product and the agent is trying to develop a product that matches the customer’s needs. eSpace integrates a shared, horizontal table display and augmented paper brochure to promote both independent customer exploration of information and better collaboration with the agent. The work raises issues about which tools should be provided for interacting with the display and how the common screen real estate is to be managed.