Digital Desks


Sponsor Gregory Abowd
abowd@cc.gatech.edu
380 CRB
Area HCI, Software Engineering and Future Computing Environments

Problem
A digital desk is a desktop which fluidly combines paper and pen with a computer generated display. We are currently using a prototype digital desk and building applications for it (see http://www.cc.gatech.edu/pendragon). Our main focus is how to better support document creation, especially coding, with work natural input techniques.

One essential component of a digital desk is a system for tracking the user's pen. This can be done with a digitizing tablet, computer vision, or one of many often inventive approaches. For this project you need to select a technique (we can provide a tracing program called "pfinder" if you choose vision, or a sonic digitizing tablet which sends pen coordinates to the serial port if you choose to use a tablet) and implement a program which shows on-screen what the user is doing on their desk. Your program should be able to send these coordinates over a serial port to a server we will provide as well. This will allow it to act like a mouse. If you have the time and inclination, you can extend your program to support editing gestures or handwriting recognition. Background

Deliverables
Evaluation
If you are able to complete all of the deliverables, you will do fine. If you are unable to complete all three, then don't worry as we will be most interested to find out what you learned in the process.