Surface User Interfaces

A Surface User Interface (SUI) is a class of user interface which relies on a self illuminated (e.g. LCD) or projected horizontal, vertical or spherical interactive surface coupled with control of computation into the same physical surface (e.g. a touch-screen). As with a tangible user interface the outputs and inputs to a SUI are tightly-coupled. They rely on computational techniques including computer vision, resistive membrane, capacitive and surface acoustic wave detection, to determine user input to the system. They are often used in public places (kiosks or ATMs) or small personal devices (PDA or Smart Phone) where a separate keyboard and mouse cannot or should not be used. The scale of a SUI can range from small personal devices such as an Android phone or PDA, through to an iPad or Tablet PC up to large public interactive surfaces such as the Pufferfish Spherical Display, Microsoft Surface, MERL DiamondTouch. Further details on the scale and use of such displays can be found in our paper of a taxonomy for and analysis of multi- person-display ecosystems (Terrenghi L., Quigley A. and Dix A., 2009).

Electronic display devices are now ubiquitous in a broad spectrum of everyday life environments, consider for example the penetration of televisions, monitors and mobile devices. Each has a different form factor and portability characteristic, each supports a variety of interaction techniques and can often be used by a variable number of people. Around the world, Ubiquitous Computing research and development groups are exploring mobile and embedded devices in almost every type of physical artefact including home and work surfaces, cars, toys, tools, homes, appliances and clothing.