Fluid interaction with high-resolution wall-size displays

This paper describes new interaction techniques for direct pen-based interaction on the Interactive Mural, a large (6′x3.5′) high resolution (64 dpi) display. They have been tested in a digital brainstorming tool that has been used by groups of professional product designers. Our "interactive wall" metaphor for interaction has been guided by several goals: to support both free-hand sketching and high-resolution materials, such as images, 3D models and GUI application windows; to present a visual appearance that does not clutter the content with control devices; and to support fluid interaction, which minimizes the amount of attention demanded and interruption due to the mechanics of the interface. We have adapted and extended techniques that were developed for electronic whiteboards and generalized the use of the FlowMenu to execute a wide variety of actions in a single pen stroke, While these techniques were designed for a brainstorming tool, they are very general and can be used in a wide variety of application domains using interactive surfaces.