The Apple iphone has introduced the notion of an interactive touch screen and Microsoft is in the process of releasing similarly based device that is about the scale of a coffee table which they refer to as the Surface. There now appears to be a demand for a one and a half times human scale wall interactive monitor; thus software engineers and technological researches working at the University of British Columbia, Canada have developed a non-touch interactive technology they have entitled Shadow Reaching.We introduce Shadow Reaching, an interaction technique that makes use of a perspective projection applied to a shadow representation of a user. The technique was designed to facilitate manipulation over large distances and enhance understanding in collaborative settings. We describe three prototype implementations that illustrate the technique, examining the advantages of using shadows as an interaction metaphor to support single users and groups of collaborating users. Using these prototypes as a design probe, we discuss how the three components of the technique (sensing, modeling, and rendering) can be accomplished with real (physical) or computed (virtual) shadows, and the benefits and drawbacks of each approach
I am particularly interested in the idea of these larger then life interactive displays using virtual shadows to manipulate imagery which is briefly touched upon near the end of this video demo.
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