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September 21, 2005
Magic Wallpaper
I just learned about the MagicBoard.
The MagicBoard project aims at augmenting a perfectly ordinary whiteboard-like surface with electronic capabilities, via a video projector and a pan / tilt / zoom camera. The user works on the board as in the usual way, drawing or writing with ordinary marker pens. Whenever she chooses, the user can "grab" an electronic copy of the things that have been drawn or written with the marker pen. This copy is projected back onto the board, precisely overlaying the original markings with the appropriate colour. The physical ink may then be erased and the electronic version manipulated on the board's surface: it can be duplicated, moved, enlarged or reduced, printed, or hidden for a moment before being recalled. Meanwhile, the user may add to her designs with the marker pen as before. At any time, these new markings can be turned into digital form to merge with the electronic version of her work.
This work was originally developed as part of the Facilitator Room project at MIT. My friend Mark Torrance worked on this project during his grad school days at MIT, when it was called the "Intelligent Room".
My friend Heather Read just wrote to me that her daughter is using the MagicBoard in school, so this technology seems to have made it into operational use. I find this very exciting!
The project also has a connection to the MERBoard, a collaborative whiteboard developed by one of my former groups at NASA and used during the Mars Exploration Rover mission. In addition to letting users manage electronic content using whiteboard metaphors, the MERBoard was used for synchronous and asynchronous distributed collaboration.
As prices come down and technology improves, I think the form factor of networked interactive whiteboards will become increasingly common in work and educational environments. Imagine the possibilities of magic wallpaper covering our homes and offices!
Posted by barney at September 21, 2005 10:58 PM
This entry was posted in the following categories: Digital Media , NASA , Web/Tech
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