Spatial Data-Management

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S EC U R IT I C L A S S I F I C A T I O N ~ OF T H I S P A . E “4 ’ .’ !.~~ ‘v t - I,
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/ SPATIAL DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM , / Final ,~ echnical ~ ep~~ t

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7. A iJ T H O R ( s , 6 LO N T RA C T OR G R A N T NUMBER(s)
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Dr. ‘ Richard A./Bolt ,

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9 P ORMING O R UA N I ZA ION N A M E AND A D D R ES S
— -to-- b’ OGRAM ELt M N T , P UJ t LT
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A R E A & W O RK U N I T NUM BER S
Massachusetts Insti#~ te of Techno’ogy
Archi tec ture Machine Group ,9-516
Cambridge , MA 02139 A
II . C O N T R O L L I N G O F F I C E N A M E AND A D D R E S S ,
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19. S UPPLEMENTARY N O T E S

IS. K E Y WORDS (Continue on reverse side if necessary end Identify by block number)

Managemen t Information Systems

Compu ter Graphics
Man-machine studies
Communications media
20. A B S T R A C T (Continue on reverse s ide if necessary end Identity by block number)
‘ Machine Group iat i~he Massachusetts Institute of Technology , - [1
~~~ ‘Th e Architecture
under the sponsorship of the Cybernetics Technology O f f i c e of the U . S .
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency~~ has been developing an experiment 1
information system which exploits the user ’ s sense of spatiality to organize
and access data .
Conceptual roots lie in the observation that one can readily locate and .~~~~
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retrieve some book from one ’ s bookshelf , or the appointment calendar from

DD I :AN

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 Spatial Data-Management

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SE C U R I T Y C L A S S I F I C A T I O N OF T H I S P A .E “4 ’ - . (Je e F . / I e r r’j /
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L DATA MANAG EMEN T SYSTEM ,
SP ATI A ‘
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W i lY C L A S S I F I C A c / -)N
~~F T H I S P AG E I4he,, Dc/ a Entered)

~~ one ’ s desktop , on the basis of where i t is , or where one put it , in a

well-learned, f a m i l i a r space .
A prototype system has been developed that uses wall-sized , f u l l color
digital television with synchronized stereo sound to create a v i r t u a l
spatial world , “Dataland ,” over which the user helicopters via joystick
control . Items of interest seen through a graphics “window ” can be zoomed
in upon and interactively perused. Data types include : maps , text , book-like
items , letters , photographs , slides , movies , sound and television .
Results thus far suggest that the user quickly learns (on the order of
minutes) to navi ga te about such a space , and readily ddopts a spatial
way of regarding and discussing data .

The approach of managing data spatially is offered not as an alternative

in competition with managing data on a symbolic or name basis , bu t as a
complement thereto . This manner of dealing with data should have special
appeal for that class of user for whom directnei s and immediacy are essential
•‘ qualities for interaction .~~ Economically , there is 1,ncreasingly less justi—
f i c a t i o n t h a t the potentials richness of such an ap proach to manag ing da ta

a
need be foregone.

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Dr. Richard A. Bolt

Principal Research Scientist
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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Acknowledgments

Realization of our spatial data-
management project derives from many
minds and hands.
The Architecture Machine Group at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
both as a collection of individuals and as
a creative ambiance , generated the
essential environment in which such an
investigation could thrive. There does
indeed operate the “spirit of a place ,” dif-
ticult to define , undeniable when present.
Systems implementation of spatial
data-management system concepts was
carried out under the leadership of
Mr. William C. Donelson , who has per-
formed throughout with exceptional
initiative and ingenuity.
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• _ _ _ _ _ _ _
The energy and vision of Dr. Craig Fields
of the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency’s Office of Cybernetics
Technology provided extraordinarily vig-
orous and profitable sponsor interaction.
We are all appreciative of his perceptive
support .
My personal gratitude extends especially
to Professor Nicholas Negroponte , Prin-
cipal Investigator, whose élan and imagi-
nation has touched every aspect of this
enterprise, indeed made it possible.
Richard A. Bolt
D D C

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Contents
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The Concept 6
The Setting 10
Finding Data 13
Perusing Data 28
What We Learned 50
Future Directions
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Prologue

Such startling advances and cost reduc-

tions are occurring in microelectronics
that we believe future systems will not be
characterized by their memory size or
processing speed . Instead , the human
interface will become the major measure.
calibrated in very subjective units , so
sensory and personalized that it will be
evaluated by feelings and perceptions.
Is it easy to use? Does it feel good? Is it
pleasurable 7
It is this interface that will bring corn-
puters directly to generals. presidents of
companies. and six-year-old children.
Thus, we ask the reader of this report to
think about its contents in two ways. One
is to judge the specific value of spatial
constructs for nonspatial data. The other
is to appreciate the general intention of
making sound, visual , and tactile inter-
faces to serve conjointly as the modes
and media of interaction with a comput-
ing resource , at once transparent and
ubiquitous. Such quality is no longer a
luxury but a requirement.
Nicholas Negroponte

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~~ The Concept
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- tlit.” 5, 1\ ,ind sc.i! ,ltX iUt t\\ u ~ ‘t ~ ~~~‘ lt ’ k is t ’I,ibor . itt 1 ‘ii t h e si sh
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t~~i i ~ 1s /I ~~~ii t hit ’ 5hit ’tt tot CO rt ,Li r) t S I LIk ‘
Additieii,ilk tli i~ s o 5 ~‘ens1.int t.i ~ ’
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spirit ’ Pius. tIlt ’ I’OL ’k is ~‘C,i tt ’/I riot b\ its t~~i ’Ultt ’Llt ’tiO il ~~ithi Its- tt ’ifls . r~ - ,ic hiii ~~i t~~r
t ’ 1it t)\ iI~; ~‘ 1s;t ~ ’f i i ,il\ s ite fl .i ice ,ifltl t~’uJ1ifl& 1 thlt ’i i i ,l iiiOtoi Il1Ot11O I\ H
/It ’tiflt ’/1 t oIlier books 1fli1 th e Es e k \\hit ’R’ thir sts ,ire ,iHSt ’s ,is t ’II •\ ‘iipt
~ ~ ~ ~
~‘,i5 ~ ’ ISO i t I ’ ! tt it ” ~lt ’I Ot r tt it ’\ iI bt ’COI1)t ’5 flL \1t ’d
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into t h e iifti sCul ,lture, ,is it \ e r e ,
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Cor i~~iJt ’r Is
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opie ortliii ,ir ik hiud ifl to \\
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her e ti ie ten) is
ilt ’i)i5 , Oil thit ’it i,leSk tops tIlt ’ ippoirit
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1110111 5 ,.lk iS Hfl / 111(1 to the rs ~ hit thit ’ telo
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phsirie is in h it ’ L ’ ~~~ t ’t ii~ht ‘Ii
~~~ I ir ’r Iii it i
prio lt\ ’ niornos ,Ire kept iii ~~ ‘‘ in L’ .’\
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unrnetii,itel\ to tt’ rt ’ ott oh the dosk blotter .

loss u rgent itenis ,ir e in the tilt ’ holder , top
rnidl.Ile oh desk . ~ii si so tor t hi

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 Thit ’ pr.ictic,iI Import, irict ’ oh this sp iti il
~ ~
principle 1 or ir ii:,it i cr u s illustr3ted
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l O l l ; ori ieor it ’ tsippens to disturb our
~
h .l iulli ,lr 3r rdrlqe rller lt ct thi n gs Peth ips
sortie ~~olI-rne3ninq soul tri e s to tid\ ~up
o u r setrtui inq cbsiHic desk lop Rither
~ shio ir i ‘‘Filed under the letter R ’’ tr 3 ns-
th~-in L’it .~u r1I,t i benefit , the I io ‘‘ ‘oll-
~
or i,urui:ei1 desk is for us ,~n~org,irii:,i-
~ ~lO~ i i the ss~ of
tional dis ,ister the lorn’ier ‘ rness
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,i r r ,I r l ge r n e r ut u ,is himnili r 3nd u eIl tr l\
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eled m ound tiereu poni could go
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di !ect l\ to ~ hi,it ~~ t ’ .irited Suicb ’i iloss
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.1 t,i rn hi ir sp3ti3l l,1\ 011 c3n) impress
~~
upon us the extent to huich u e hike this
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subtle but ss~er t uu l pr it icipk” of 01 .1,11 ui:,i
lion t~ r mr3rlted in our d,ii l\ I i\ es
•\rr t ’\enl rrio re striki n g rris t ,lrice of the role
oh sp3tidIit\ ri coiiiniioni e\ perit’rlct ’ is t h e
ccl iorence ind persistence of ‘‘ irn ,igt ’r\
~
Tu o inds’idu,ils ,irgunnig ~i topic in t ront ot
~t ) I
.1 ,li’kh.’rlrd uI l refer e,ichi other to di3—
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g r ,iiiis equation s and terniis Ofi t h e
Isis’s oh where thuo\ had t’ieeri w ritte n .
even long after the~ fsi ~ e been er,istsi’
his surpr ising hlo\\ flOi\ . iSi\ o the under-
l\ its notion ot 5p~lti Ihit\ is . e en ti s~ i i i
15i1 0 11101,los oh thou hit Cot isider a tile oh
three b\ t~ e ilOtoC3rds . org,inii:ed
llptldbet ic_ ill\. but ~ th ou ! letter Libs
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tiles into .1 t 3Ctite estirn,ite ot t io t~ii —
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c,irds e m u s t re,icti
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The s3mne holds true to m .i dictiorl lr\ it h-
0111 tt ’tuznib irlde\es When o ~~.int to
~
look uip 3 u\oi1l beginn ing ~ ith the letter
R . \\~~ guessti mn,ite \\hlOte ~~~~ should
‘‘
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open the pageS oh the book to begin 01it
sedrch T h us . R is somehou 3 roLits o
~
dist,ir ice . ~is ~ eli ~is ,i let ter . There is
more spitr3hrtV ri iplicit ri F sit is or dir iin -
~
ik, thiotig tit of 35 5\ iilbCl IC re t r i0\ ,iI ttl3rl
u o 11,1\ re3li:e
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In summnar’A- . it is precisely the insight I’
ibout hio ~ e tend to retri e\ e items tro ri’i
~ ~
desk tops . f rom tiles 3nd book shekes ,
I, ’\ en mo r n erased blackboards, that lies
heart of the spatial data iiidrsloe
~il tile
merit con cept u e find item s on the L’ ,isIs
~
oh a riior e on less detuiite sense of their
locatron in a fani ìi l iam space . u hichi space
~
rrr ,i be
~ ac’ti,iattv present or teti’ier ’nbered
 I

Ariotser stuJ\ (SutIrlod in that s,mns’ pro-
p05 1! looked to Its’ t ’~~~ Soil. itic ri of ~r ( 1 ~~~
sc,1l’ i ’ ? as a I I r at r r \ to r orq 1ni .’ in infor-
~ ~ ~ ~
“1.11,01) lfl t ’ rtu,il bulletin 1 ssi rd ” This
~
tern) reF ers to Its’ Ior rri uuj ,il iori of an
‘lOi iC it 1 SlOt ’ which Occupies no “real
~ can nor iethio.es s
space but contain a
Urea! deal 1,ls well as otter the saris’
spatial organ .’alional cueirig as to the
t 1er ,1bo ut5 t material that re,il work
~~
,
~ ~ ~
s u rtaces do The tacit si:e of a “field” of
information to be portrayed in com puter
graphics need riot be limited by the size
of the ph ysical display. Since it is virtual .
its apparent size and graphic organiza-
tion are open to user defin ition in the
un constrained sense of Ivan Sutherlan d’s
characterizat ion of a computer display
as “ a window on Alice ’s Wonderland”
(“Co m puter Displays.” Scientific Amen-
,S lT ? . June 1970).
Uieso two s sit i ,il thioinos spts . itic iIl
r 1,’SO r sited
~ ~
w ith Dr Cr ,lig Fields , Sen ior
Program Manager in Itie C Per i)elic s
~
Tech ir)oIoq\ Ofhice . As a result we sta r ted
to e\plo ro the potentia lities of a sp iti iII\.
oriented Jat,i 1)ar),jgerner )t s stern~ ~‘ i
nliultid irite risj on al window into~data ” Tbio
outcorlie bi,is been th it over the past two
~
ve irs , ur 11,ler lb ie aegis of DARPA , the
~
Archite cture Machine Group has been
ex perimenting with the creation of an
infor m ation ns.lrlagement s\ stern whose
distinguishing c harac terist ic is that it
exp loits tfie user ’ s sense of Spat ialit\ for
purposes of organizing and tell i0viilC)
data a spatial data-n’nanagenient
sy stem , or SDMS .

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A tel ev isl on proj ec tor in t he

I Is’ noLixed ,iiiiL’ii5iiir ’ i ’ ii ivt ’vts ,i I the Vtv ’ br,ive itts’nniptet1 It) cte ,ik’ ani interface
~
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room adj acent to the media ~ ~
w i rinoli is riot . i Iii my, nsii mow - band .. pont
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room back—projects upon the
large screen t otheuser ’ s
front.
Pnt ” st”n lOt’ (Of a oh nain oh If it ” I ,innlos qer mIt ’
ui lieu of son n rt ’thi ulq nsn ont ’ ufilit , in ian us
initeniti o n ia l , however It rr ’t lt ’ i’ti; con ivi c
tionls amid positions about t int ’ m ’n at uni ’ a n si
ton e of isnInsun lonnIpulen infl ijC ti n ’i That
~ ~
I’nole ’’ in itt ) .111 in ibm nation b ank . tf iI b a n k
itself au abstnaclly ,iddnessed sot~ of
untan iqible s Rahfien . we have alteunpied
nadioally ho 101 3Sf ffie setting is an unIon
‘‘

we brav o ~lItenll ptori to ~iotuali :t” in n lIne national s unrou rsi whe ne in the user is
nierlia noonni setting Just ,ms tInt’ hianiris directly engaged with data bodied f o r t h
rini i i1i rr it ’Ji,~ ’y of Iotii ’hi st ’nis it i’ pads i i i visioni , sound , arid touch , data ini bsi bit
~ -
suu g .1i ’sfs , i litt” na l ninpationot’ with nit5i n inig a spatially detin iit& ” ‘‘ virtual ’’ won ld that
iblos ,ifiout daf t , sul If s ’ rieco m as epnto can be ullenact ivioly oxploned and nn,ivi
n rrL - (’ (i ui thir ’ u’lr ’ ’tio u m of tIi sl L’ of chain cjat rsi
~ ~ ~ ~
n ”t rits tIi ~im on r isa’ II nat ‘iston l i i isen s
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uliust live un St ’~ 0 nt ’ . ,is( ’ohR ’ st ’f ti rrg ;
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(~ ‘r 5 ’ tIlt ” I ‘nitl ’ ij tir ’ tni this nt ”pont

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The apparemit n ito of tr , iv I is proportional

~
to the pressi in e the u ser exerts on the lOV
slick At niax inliriun i pressure . it takes
about twenty st ’con R is to travel acro ss
Let us say that you push the loystnck to
the right and away from you. This action
will set you helicoptering across Data-
arid to the ‘‘ northeast. On the big screen
’’

Dat aland , ~is illustrated iii this example
database . from its oastem ni to western
sin dons
During flight , the riser is given visual
botslL ’iar ’k of two kinds,
1 progress.
movement of the r’naternal across the
“window ” oh the large scree n :
2 touch Traversing relatively large dis-
track unig of the path of the window by Ihe
highli ghted rectangle on the auxiliary
m onitor
16
you will see material scudding by in a
southwesterly direction: that is , the irnti.ii-
tive sense of miioveniemit will be that of a
window looking out over a world passimig
by below Simultaneously, the highlighted
rectangle on the auxiliary view at your
right hand will track your northeastward
Complementing joystick control of flight
over Dataland is “teleporation ” by direct
tamices with the joystick cami be tri.istratimi g:
for the veteram i user, this of tori represents
“dead tun’ne.” Accordingly, the u se r is
given the option of indicating where he
wants to go directly on the touch-
sensitive “world view .” The highlighted
“you-are-here ” rectatigle will disappear
from its current location , to reappear
centered at t h e spot indicated by the
finger touch. On the large screen , the
“ magnified” view of the old location dis-
appears , to be replaced by the lust-
in nulncated locale.
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Faces which are unrecogniz-

ableand tinyon Dataland as
monltor become detalledend
clear when zoomed-incapon
The level of visual detail in items pro-
vided on the auxiliary world-map view
deserves comment. In everyday life, we
need some minimal amount of visual
detail to identify an item that we have
never seen before. If an item is small in
suze, or small because distant , it can lack
sufficient shape or figural detail to enable
us to discern what it is. However , recog-
nition of already familiar items requires
less fugural detail. We readily recognize
friends way down a street , at distances
where visual acuity is insufficient to pro-
vide facial details. We recognize them on
the basis of gait. relative size , general
shape or “visual envelope ,” as well as by
context , that is , by expecting a figure
with such-and-such-color clothes to
appear in such-and-such a place,
Or, take the example of a Coca-Cola sign
down the street. At a distance at which we
cannot distinguish the individual letters
of the sign , we yet recognize it as being a
“Coke ” sign. The fact that it appears over
a drugstore or variety store supports
contextually this act of recognition,
A similar principle holds in the area of
audition. On a certain popular television
game show (“Name That Tune”), per- p
sons who are particularly well informed
about popular music as well as alert can
sometimes identify (“recognize”) a song
on the basis of no more than its first two
or three notes. Consider , for example , the
first two notes of the melody “Auld Lang
Syne.” The clue that the song about to be
heard is associated with a holiday, the
distinctive tonal interval of the first two
notes of the song. can be sufficient to
define the intersection of context (New
Year’s Eve) and tonalities , as. indeed ,
“Auld Lang Syne.”
The recognition situation , as opposed to
the identification situation . is what we
anticipate to be the operating condition
for the typical user of SDMS. That is, the
array of highly familiar items in Dataland
is “searched .” not by a deep visual anal-
ysis of every item before one’s view , but
by relatively “shallow ” visual processing.
quite adequate for the recognition of
familiar items in familiar places.

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 Sound too , can be ,ir in aki,ibIo ii , i ga- U iose in iu 3thier sounds did much to The No heastem Coast of
tional aid mi SDMS. space ~ ~ ~
as c ued b\ c reate a sense of region amid mieigh- the United States seen from
afa r. Asate lli tei mage of the
sound can have an implicit extent much borhood:’a feeling of pro x imllit . much as New England coastline is
greaten than that boumide, i b\’ the ‘~ sij al ~
the bell s , hammerings , traffic noise, ins etattheed g e.
amid
“window ” onto Dataland given b the playgr ound chatter of t h e real world fill
~
lange-s cr een new Off-screen voices ,
~ t hings out. At nuonnenits in na m ating
becomn inig ran1uall audible as one ~
~ across Dataland . depending upon the
approac hes sonic item or area , can route taken , sound can be t h e sole direc-
serve to orient amid guide t m onal cue, should onem ’m ’iom ’nentarily miot
be consulting the world view auxi hiam\”
‘‘ ’’

Two exaniiples oh sounds that we have
en’nployed include
1 interactive control of the loudness level of
an off- screen voice , in stereo , reciting
“This is MIT This us MIT,. ..” the voice
leading the traveler in Dataland first to
the vncnnnty of , and then to, a certauni
“glyph ” bearing the initials MIT, which
v~as the source of the sound:
2
a gray telephone wit h white touch-tone
buttons (not activated for “dialing.” but
potentially so), which rings louder and
louder upon approach.
monitor but watchim ig the large screem
We note in passing that t h e user is given
sound through gesturing upon either of
the sniiall , touch-sensitive pads on the
armiis of the chair. Circlnmig with the finger-
ti p in a coumiterclockwise direct ion atten-
uates the volume of sound, amid a circling
gesture clockwise causes volume to
increase.
With respect to n avigatio n around Data-
land, we have so far talked only about
movement over the surface of the plane
of data at a constant “altitude. ” How then
does the user manage to get at the data
detected at a distance?

21

L__ _ _ _ ___ _
_ _
F - -

‘ I

At a distance ~and at low Wh ile it iui iqhi t at first seenni that such dis - To zoonn ni u pon an hem of interest is II)
resolution , this image on
u ities nun nnnaqe sh i,nmpi ness rluniniq oddness tlrat mte n n r Ion u nposos oh
‘

Dataland isc leart y a letter. con tin

Letterhead logos , despite
reliable cues for sender ’s
identity .
~~~~ n n c~ni onl y 1 s disarivunitaqoor IS ,
II ~ o ire circunr istanices nun which n Lick
of Ii )~~ m rm hem visual detail followed by the
sudden initrodrnctiomi of linen detail n u ikos
good sense in termns of in ’nlorin atnoni pro-
sem itatnoni
ii ‘ispection Fon somi me ten ins , sin nply to
sn no tn ~) ho II nenu will car so lb su n to g~inn
n rot only in size hr it in nnlormnationi .
in icr (5 sod detail , fin u n hul nn ioatnon’n , rrolo’ .
~
nid , iii son nio CaSes. sound arid move
m enu . Id approach tb ’ienni is to activate
‘‘

them , With oth er items . son rnr ’ fur t her risen

In the ripper ruqht , on northeast , corn ier of initiative such ,ns “touch selection ” mniav
)at,iI,im 5 1 5 an anea allocated to And un t n ‘ _ Ill ’ involved as i part of ii mi en r’ in item ac-
li re Macbrine Group cor nosp onmrlennr ’o ’’
‘‘
live pnocr”ss of p0111501.
with our nose inc h sponsor , DARPA .
Inn this ~inea is a Iocsimnile of a letter , cairn
plete with ’n Ietterhe, ’d amid siqts’iture.
W hen appro ach ed , the k’t lon insli.-ed
looks like a loller b ut is ,is yet i inireada-
1)10 At 0 cent aur threshold nnearm iess . tI me
text su rirlen ‘nly qani is in cl, in mty an id
I )OuS r m mu u~~ p e r f e c t l y k ‘ ( l it u i . ’

I
 Perusing Data
F r’igic ,illy disti nct fro nm m ti,ndi,nq a contain
lenin n i l )at ,iLm mnrl is pt ’Il/.s/fl rl lb i ,il m tennm mn
place Onici.’ the riser bias boum i rl the len in
amid .‘oam umerl ni on it , thue sptucitir ’ honn in
that perusal lakes is con nrlitio nier l 1 ~ the
nn at um mo of bbs ’ d it,i .
In dim oct con itn ash to n natem nab lb nit is “nut
tbme r o ,” visib le , to be dt ’ okrped inn f r ill
~ ~
simply I i\’ ,ip ’mn o,’ichi , one miiate mi,ils wh ich
~
reed to Lie “pei r iseri wb rem e pen ris il
“
,
~
m nn i. ’,nn is open unnug imp a votninui e . slanting n
hIm clip, sek ’ctim mq p,in t urf i set (11 slides
to Is’ soon m , and so on . lb no essen tial nrieo
is that the risen oponms imp amid develops
bins mn ’n t em cb ’ ma n ’mgo with Ibme data m ono on
loss innte ma, ’ti ely tb’ imouqh ulm nec h touic b’m in
~ book - like mnn,igo
a ‘‘b ua m’mrls-or ’n nnannnie r lIre lmc tno r ’iary
’’
son iso of “perusal” is II nat of “ sun oy on
~ ~
se mi tiny, ur sort ie thi or orighi im u ’ss or rlt ”ta il ‘‘
It is th ins ‘I mq,l ( 7r ” ( 1 quality oh person data
in terc h an ge t lm , it we mn ’itend by thins
te mm n nm m ’mology
- . -.-~~~~~~~ -~~~~~~~~~~~ --
-- - . 5_ _
- ~~~~~~~~~~~
0mm motion of perusal includes a cl isu; of
“ rI it,i typos ” whinc ’bm . m hi i. ’ni ,iiIdmt ’ssod .
~ ~
pmoyo to be rmnn n isria ll y nnc b n mu n otion .
colon , mid s oun d One of Ihest ’ i ii. ’\\ d,nt. n
typos is yet ,mn old ann ul I, i nnmi lm an one
the ‘‘book’’
T he risen coon ns in i on n rx Ii , it a~upe,in ;; In on r I
oLi n to be smnni pl a rectangle ‘\t close
ons’nigli n,nrgo , tIme .‘olon p,ntcbn mains
detail iii lb no trim nu n oh son no bion icon it, ml
Lul,ick nor s of “c hn ,im ,ictom s ” mnnm pl\ inig .1
~
pm mm itoi.i title U pon 1 ot ‘ii yi. ‘ In no, in on
~mppr o~mcbi . the black higunes gm~ i. ’ r~. i\ to
readable text , gi~ m mi g the title oh tbm t ’ itoni ,
wb ’mmch is nma ( ‘Ii.’, ii k SOOl) 05 mnn n b ll \ rig a
~
The risen , of u ’ uui in so, km no s that the nec
t mmiu ,j be is a ‘‘ I- took .’’ tm .ir rig put it th eme ri
the first plar ’e F bowo\ on . 1 he is a sub
scriber to a .‘o nniprite n n ’m etwonk based
‘‘book rut the m o n th ’ sons ice , and bias
per Ii,ips requested or In, is a stan 1(1mm i~~
onion Ion books , the book mina be one tie
~
h’i,ms yet to 500 , li,m\ nn mg lu st ippoaned on
~
thie Datalaisl stm nlace inn .i cert ~mmni OrIS Ion
the data plane son rig is ,i ‘‘brook drop ’’
~
for mnicon nmni g u’o nilniiimnimc ,ltno nus v bm nc bu are
book like ~
- -
_ _ _

•
r ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Th. image of the ’’telev is io n
set” serves as locale marker
tortelevlsion da t a t y p e s o n
Dataland . On thetube face of
the set can be a “ program
guide”, or, as in the example
on the fo llow ing pages . a pic—
to n al label wh ich becomes
dynam ic upo;; approach.
p P
tbme inlenl is not to Lute a mra st ,nh gm c
-
m niip n es smo m u of tIn s. ’ t’ a\ bot ”kn. ~ise ul k
~ Pns.)’ los ti lt ’ risen tt Ibm fs. ”o~lt’ m ,it ’k tb ii t .i
i.
au ik ‘ks. ’ th is. ’ s.’lectm mc fmmeph ~ics. ’ tt itt u plastic
back . lit ba is lbm o F ‘an pose is qi it o Ionic
- ~
tm omi iI I im st lb is. ” page is a in nit oh . ippr e
~ ~ ~
hie m isioni oh tbis. ” book , nt is a “bite ;~l .’s.” il
ch irm n i k ~~ F\lu ’ket at Ibis. ’ nii ,its.”m ia b fhi,iI ails.’
ts. ’s. ’hs ammo can take in coniihontab k, in n
~
‘o rlnast to tIn e stnetcb im nq et en onit mnul .
~~
nbi thmniih ess ‘t iarac te n oh scmolhed ts. ”\t
~ ~
St ’ ’omnd t h e page son~ es s ,m pnogness
~
mi ian ks.”m thm n ormg b ’n t h is. ’ te\t ni ~ ‘‘ mlii ls.~Fla5t
n;s. ’m ns~ ’ ~~‘ mt ti s. ’ailt inlrious scro lling, n;iit ’Ii
natuma l , ,li st ’rs. ’ts.’ u nm nt s at pnogmess ~U 0 lot
e\ plncnl in n the mileul ir i i i . •im id . it bolt nieces
s ,mmt b\ t Int ’ neas.le m , r ui imst be elt o mllr ih lt
- ntn ;t m , u’te uI , 05; ;lt r m m] mi 0 liOn s. ’ bu m s.l s.’ni
sorm is. ’ ton ’ne to th i s. ’ re ,ndmmn g t,iss
~~~~~~~~ -~~~~~ ---~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- —-
~1
.
I hius , tIne p .iu)e Ihi F” p om ‘ is nl ~’mt lnn tohu ’s r ms It
‘ ‘
~ lu,is tu mnioul Ifis. din os.’tnlr i,ib mt t al it me
p,ige ,
”
an imnmiahno n 1 con r s.”sFlon idm n ig to tont\ . 1111 on
I nckt ,nn ii Sps.”cntrc all\ it I s.”in m51,itt ”s ba r
.
tilt ’ i15s.”i . Ui 1110 conit e\t at I bis. ’ neas.lmnnu oh
~
s.’onii~~ rm t s.’n ts. ”h s.”t in st ill Io\t . thus. ’ t i m n, ’ t , ’r r, n l
eulnit ,ilemit oh tt bi.it thie u at tim. ” p.uis.’
~
g ites lottie reader at tm ,ndi tm o nia b t” ,une ,l
pm mm nte s.l nnie ul ma th is. ’ sense of knicit ~m m n, ~
t ’bii ”ne \ O U ,lns. ’ inn tIme nnn at e ni ,nI Mare germ
~
s.”m aI k’ . it n ~ ,ini m n is tami ce oh t inat t t o ~‘ In ~ ’n’;~s. ”
~
to term in a “niiou im ,l t m ulr nc na l . a m i r ,n’k i; mi. i
s\stem ln . on built - in te,itrine oh ,mn mni eti nrinui
~
that 50!\ 05 I bis. ’Ii iniction oh lehtm nq t or i
knott “t t t i e r s .’ tOr i one ” kisei.l oni loca
tiom ial ~‘;ies an sing ou t at Il - s. ’ basis.” sin inc
tun e oh th is. ’ niuo ~li rimii itselt
One nas.lical ulepa ntrm ns. ’tm onii t hus. ” aud i
nom i.’o nn i.’s. ’pt at t h e book , e\s.’ept ,in
~
,idrmnuit ”mah ed ml such page s. ’onnien lImp
,i n imn i ia t ns. n is th is meps. ’mm I bias in its uipps. ’m
~ ~
helt bua nis.i paej s. ’ t ’iin iis. ’n S iS t h is. ” l .iu ’t ttu ,it
tttmnht ” sonlis.’ p,ngs. ” ilbusti. ’t tioni s ttill L~ s. ’ st i r
Ii .Is. , otb iem illrn s lna t no n ’ns t nII Its. ’ nno\ 05 .
~ ’s ~
‘
oi ,nmim mii ,nt es.l tin, ign om its . tt nib am tt nib ion it
s~ imnul ,it ’t ’t n m iF 0mlm nlls. ”mils Ib is. ’ (“o ;;;sI~nIit\
~ ~
u~I s i mmis.l ‘on. rn ~ilml eec. in ;mon u pen r irit th is. ’
~ ~
bOtIk tom connm’nient inponu it ;; s.~\\ml ts. ’\t ,m m ~ I
mli , 511 ,ih i n is , .m n is.i 0\ en i toad itse bb to t oni
~
- -,
~~~~~~~~ ‘-
_________
p

Zooming -tn approach to

telev;su o n set ” on Dataland
(left column) , enlarges the
television set ’ s screen to
become effective ly as large -

as the screen to the user ’ s

f r o n t (ri gh t column). The
‘blocky ” digital image
becomes replaced by a
dynamic image in color ,
from videodisc, launching
-
into con t i nuous liveaction
(opposite page).

- —
— C

34 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
r
~~~~~~~

‘ “ .
. .- - ‘ .- --
-- - - - -— -~~~- -- ‘ ~~~~~~~~~~~
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— ‘-
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• - — - — -— :_. . . . . . =—
: —
_ ---- — — - - - .-.
~~ _ :_• .
~~~~~~~ ~~ ~--— —- -~~~~

v—
4
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11

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~~~~~~~~~
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I _ _ _ _ _ _

j
S
t

I’
S
I
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4, .
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ii, ‘~ m’ ~ t .i~ mt ’ A m ,, , .i,ul
’
1,i ,t ’ i, ’ i,, — . i,l it , ‘ .i lit I,, ‘.1
i i , i i i t t, , , I~ , ttoit, ,, t i t , lu, -k
~ ~
4 w it h ii i u—,
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,i ’~~, m i i i t i , , , i
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, i,iri,l- ,ii iil
~ hii i i’ i i t i . i ,t i ’ ‘~~ ~
ii .t ~~,’i 1,, ’ , , , d . , %t ~ i l t 4 i~ l i i i S —,
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In lim It ,i,i,I i i i,i,h 4m ‘ , i ,,, i’ .
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lii , , I i, , t i ,i —
~~~~~~~~~
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I, i i ’I~~t I i iui ’ ,. ,‘ , un—

N,ili,i,il m~~~Ii, ,-u

,mn, ,hl n-, iiihi )i’ ~i ’ 4ihR m ’it ~ i’,ii
~
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t n ’ti ’i i4
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~~~
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~~~~~~~~~
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~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nearin g Boston , tIm e tri anq u.

- -
~~~~~~~
- — - ‘ -
— ..
~~ :~~ ~~ _
.
~
-. -
a ‘
• . ar runway patterns of Logan
~~~~~ I~•_ ~
— — International Airport come
into sighl at lowe r hell (ne tt
coiu mm ) I nail y . central Bos-
t oi l and Charles River basin
-
• - appear nr ighl cohtimnim . to t )
- - . and midd le) .

:.‘
—

— - —
~ ~~~~~ . To thi s poimmI , all images a rt ’
‘ 5
•
— — retrieved ho rn magneti c
—
—.
media Threl ina l i ina g e . a
map, replaces the satel ii te
- . ima g ery, it comes ot t the
-
~
optical v ideodisc

- — • ‘.
— ~

a--
The ”active process~~In thiS
case a calculator , is ill ustr at-
ed by the photog raph ic
image on the large screen.
sion. which ca nb e invoked
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
t elephone a dictaph one .
even a telev ision .
“slr ~Is.” colIs.”ctn an 1 ’ residin ig at this. ” mm rap of
—.
-
to ms. ’capntin lote. ib is. ” ti nt ; ! ket nnn ,mp \\ ,mn ;
thi s. ” tal’ mit ” ot cs. mnts.”rlts oh tins. ’ - book
.
,
- mllatt in ig this. ” nis s. ’m ,ms. ’ ’t ’
, n;n ; Is.) ss. ’Is. ’s. ’t s. sI ss. ” m ’
tis.mnis ~mt this. ’ ts.’\t ~~ 5s.n ’(irki it ~k’ s. ’mt ken,
nap. e’s.enm iplib med Pt this. ” t u rns. ” s.’onm nit e r
ts. 1s. \ i5ls.~ i i sot . ’
s.1~~ ~~~~~~~ \\ i tti this. ”
ena bles t~sen nniten,nctionl t\ rtl m ttb iot , I i s . ” ml
s. ’sss.”ns.’t ’ b m m s.x ’ s. ” sn;s. ” n; at’ s.’n linus.’ 1 his. ” th i rr ul
it Ps. ’ tIne L’\Nl ISAI ii mi ~ige ks. ’t nm n ~1p.
bunctionis t\ itb i n s.”sps.” n’t ho the I ‘\Nt 1S,\1
inni,IC 1s. ” as the “wn m r Id t rs. ”t~ ” ,iuxi ln im ~ m iro mu i -
ton tim ni c t no m us w ith ms. ”s~ m s. ’ct to Dotolond at
barge. a “ t o ni , m ms. ’ bue na ” nn~mnkem , naspond-
mug to st -n lO\ stick n n, it rgatn a n 1 ,ibs.ii it ~i
sp,k’m ” This. ” kay nip associoted witb u this. ”
R’nsts. ’nmi p, ntbi m n the New Enigbanid I. AND -
SAl nn m m a g s.” . exemuip libies thi s.” bounthi t\ pa,
used to nnkn mi,ige data in, P05 t\’lir clm one
essen rti , ill, cI n~mm ,mc ter i.’able Pt “mu mmnt ns. ”m ”
ss.mnui o ons.I s.” nes.l ss.’nrs. ” s oh tennis , ,mni y amm o of
which the usen num ,n t dwell ann hon sc’miie
ti n usps.”c lies.I ps.’!nod oh tin ins.”
- - -5-
- ‘- — ’ - ’.
--
,
i~i~o~~ a
~Vu ’ e \ t m u~u
’t tbms. ’m s.”pentonrs.” oh ks.”i, nap
It n s. ”s to g m m mt\ ilonig tt rt ln en il ,nnqe nmis.”mnt s ,nf
~
thi s. ’ n ,‘pe m lo ins. ” oh data t\ p05 ,is n ns. ’t\ data
hi, f)t’5 mu ”q iiir t ” omnh”nmmmn ~ Lit SOilis.” pm mnic rp it ’
niot ,is.’co n i nmis. ’d f a n b\ ,ìii\ pns.’t nouslt
uIs.’ t n ’ ms. ” i.l ks.”t n i _ I b m
F im ntb ne r ,in nonq data t\ ps.”s ni Dat,il,nmid
t hi, itdepant bm onn th u s.” usuo l ins. ’ tbio ss.” lii i!
one ~mmu mce5st ‘s 1 fiat is, SDMS’s Rit~il,ind
bias m modes on its sun tact ” . indic.its.”d t in,
-.
,nppnopm m~nte gIn, ph is , wbui cbi mn iaks. ” cent,Un
bunctions ,it ,iilabls.” to thie usem
‘\ sps.”cmous examn ipls.” is this. ” ex istenic s.” in
Dotatam id oh th ie in i ioge of a b no n is.I is.”ls.I
c~m lcimlo ton . 1he usem can .- ,“onm n s.lmi s.”ctlt’ nip
to It . Theme then appeons On tile snmioll ke\
m a p nilon nitot a capn, at thins c,ik”ul,iton
mnmu ags. ’ The usem ca mi s.1mts. ”ctl ~ ton it ’ll thi e
iniiaqe sunt ,ice on the nilonitom to imiput
onith mn ieti c pnob lemun s . lust ,is with ,mn
acts. nil c,ils.”i i i, itom lb ins pam tics.ml, in s.”\O nl iple
oh ~i pnocs.”ss . pemhaps tn m\ - n,l l 0! “ c uts. ” , ”
points t ile t~ at ho wh,it wil l at eni t nm.u ll \ be
ann mnut s.”mestin g arid pat\-s. ”m hi ml ~‘l,nss at
dolo b\ b1 5
~
. _ _ _ _ _
 _
II turns Quit to his. ’ line cmmss. ’ tha t ni ~mv u g,liuon I
at em Dololon nd with tint ” joystick us so
em uuu nnemnll y mmn d un ihe mt ’mnt ly “mt ’spa mnst ’ conuu -
~ ~
pahible ” that tine novice user g ,mnm ns profu-
cien icy inn hu gh ! mu well inn Is. ”m a m nu un im ,mhe
Om ms. ” (if Ibie pu mn nn e ,m tln ~mctu nrrrs oi s~icbn a
st sls.’n m n IS the ns. ’,mnh in ne ss with w imich tInt ’
new i son In’n ’or m nos a s.’an n mj n’ts.’n nt driven
‘\i’t ’n ’ nu np ,mmn n , mug tbue no pmul ,1i’tli umsu t uon i at
“ piloting ” piaiuu ’ion in ’n~ u s rapid ;issmm nni latuo ni
)‘, the not i t ’s. ’ of Ibre j m , i~ ib ik ’ inimagon ’,- oh
this. ’ D,mta lanmd sumf ,u’ ,’ inn ,m “st m ,mln al ” ,mn,’
-
~
Almnio sb mn nn mmi s. ” d uats. ’Iv. Ibm s. ’ nrs. ’n-t ust’m hns.n t unis
to m o to r in ts. ”n ums In’, i is. ”ss. ’m ml ninn i r t in ‘~rm ,m r - ;
lb me ls.’Ihen to this. ” n ighit ,mi mt I m ont h s.ut the
j m s. ” s. ’m n sqi jars.’,” inn “line t t ’llow n oct. inn
inn Ibis.” so m itbr o , mst c am m nt ’ m Allh nonugln , of
(‘0 1 ir s.’ , thus way of reqordun o d,iI,i us
~
intended m u t h e system ’s , t hus. ” hns. ”g m m im im m m g of
disc m.mssumnq ul iha mu th u s nuios.Ie lu ’, m movics. ’
users us cur otmfyunq ly s nor ml , mm iaumi is
~
Beyond soun d as a data type amid mis
ann mImnnnO tahiln g muodaluty . our work wu hh u
ss.iunid ,ns m “ nnavu qatu on ia l ,mm d ” bra s built
,u m r ,i ~npms. ”cial uou of its ululily b r quun damm cs. ’
,u m md onient aliom ’m ,ns well as Ion Is enrich—
unuq tt unc huonn an; a r& ’du unus.Lr m mi anna for wbu at
is gom mmg omi vusnu nIly 1 rinse s.ncc,lsianns
~
when our owmn ex pem uninenta l sound sys -
lenin bmas boon teminpor . m m mly down Ii, iv’s.’
i ’nnn rvmmrco s. I us ihiol nt’s. ’ would Ins.” loatbi to
ret s.un nn ts.u a totally siletut (1,11,1 world. Coin-
cli usioin: soumnd , we ll -oncb nes tm ,u it ’nl , us u -n i-
ciol , A spolr.rl ( I,lIa - mnr ,mnr ,mgt ’ mnne nt sn ,sls. ’mnr
mu st bn ,mt -s. ’ it ,
Wbu ule we lean led nu n_uch concen r un g sps. ’
jlon ; cii mc uIs. ”smg mu fe llu uns. ”s of our SDMS effort .
~
ns. ”alu, ’ ,mt rons also ommn ’ngod about t uurt he m
polennlialuties at tine spatial thanne. Sonic
of lbn oso inidication s for fu m b ume durs. ”chi onis
,‘m n e set fort h inn flue following ss. ”ct arm .
55
‘ —‘ ‘~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Future Directions
Progress in SDMS n, mtu ru mn q on_mn tim st hwo
ye,in s of pursuumuq spatiality as .i ,mno til bras
s. ”m uc oiu r. mg enh us Ia cbi. ui t a prospectus iii
mu s. ’’s.f st eps bbic mb us , mdv ust ” s.Ily s. ’x ti t ’ m m is.’ in
t e nnnr s of positio n s take n ,
F- uutuu ne directio n s elucidated umicliu i.le bli(use
i ll ’lu pis.’iol 51lmi bi ,IliIy . c 1,i, ’o- cs.nnit u mn c 1~ iuI
displayin g , s.’yo-gesture coon dimiation i ,
vai n ’s.” ti n in inn g with ova i-ann l, uct , e\ Iilait
im un tine uusom ‘s nuear—hiofd , user position
~ nq thu ru nnuqh n .1 sp,mcs.” ss.’u rsun n s. ’d “lab
senusum
I’ mcket
‘‘
Thue n hem umm idor lyun iq “topIcal spabu ol uby ” is
sum n rpk’ . thu s.’topn_uqroph iy oh D;ilal oniul is
n_ nrq,mn nm , ’t ” u,I oni b lue bIn,’, ,ms ,i tunmctio i r oh n_ user
ss.’Is.’ct s.”d ,i\s.~s Ih ose ,n\s.”5 .me n ’Ini nss. ’m
by hire uuss. ’m on tine b ’cmsns oh wli,ml data
tbumnnemi sm orn s one liulged a~npmopn iaht ’ fin n
:o n nn n s.’ sj is. ’n ’ uimn ’ task , fn oh hms. ”n words . um mi luk s. ”
tine c u unm s.nnib ;lrnonu (1s. ”nu n (’tlh, ~nicbuuq ma nu iS .m n ’
riot stons. ”d , m mi s.b lath urn omit” place . mi mI t annin
part oh ml cbian iqunuq 3- I) spam.’s. ’
56
As .ini o\.nmn iEnk’ , no’nmnsu .In _ ”n dol t typical at
a connn lnan uy ’s pen som mniol bile. I“i& ’ti ins. ” :; of
ommnp loys. ”s.”s would ms. ”smds. ’ turn ss. ’s.,’t ’n nuib,u n \
sham age n ’nns. ” s.. Iua, am un.1 D,ilalanns.I tt tim j Im I
bnavs.u ,un urndu (n,l lut s. ’ I ni ut trl.m mik .in i’, n ”f nn,’s. ’
baniqk ”s. Tiut” um sn_”n nuu uqhu t tbn s. ”ni 51 ‘s.’cmf t ’ Ins;
Ins..umu . - ’o m ub ,il ,n\ns lu ’s. Ins.’ .i ilis.” ,iSim ms. ’ s.’nt .igs. ’
amìs.i Ibis.” t s. ’ mt mt ’,mI ,m\un ; ~us stn muus. ’bl uumn j luke
y ears of ss. ’m tics. ’, solon’,’ls. ’vt ’I inn nu nan i, igs.’
,
nuil nes tnomnsmbu luty. Ous ’s.’ sels.”cIs.’s.1 , thus. ’ ti n, ’
hires wou uki Ins.” an iIt ’ns. ’d (Inn Ibis. ’ II’, iii th in;
3 ~ s~u,ice , with ,n\ s.’n lip .mnus.I i’Iiisis. ’u mug,
m ost pm obabln,’ ibis. ’ d.mb,i nt sri It I In s. ’
seam oh ned wit h lb us.’ km nowls.”uIn ~ ‘ Ib u , it Mn
Sn nubbi (th in_ I s. ’omm n bn ,mi ry s f ou imu di mug b , ibh u t ’P us
sonuuewhs.”ms.”at uuppem mig h t ,inn d this. ” aIs.” lnt
emy In to is urn Ibis. ’ south ntt s. ’st
-

r ~~ ~~~~~~~~~
We propose to unnipleruiemnl .1 topical
SDMS. witlnmnn Ibis.” s. ’t isti nnq syste m , umsuing
build mmi g lyps.”s Tine selection ol dab
com es from on_mr 54 , 000 differe mut -tr annie
videodmsc that was nu n,ms.Is. .’ in collaboration
with tine MIT .m rcinmtec bn_ ire slide library
annd cont iinns ,ml ’nou il 20 .000 slides of
American Arch umtecture , At tins writin g.
those “tr onu ns. ”s ” .m e addition ally described
urn a (I,ml. m shruc ln_ ure wh’cln mnicluds.”s slate ,
con_unity , city, architects ’ nu.mm nos . d.itos oh
con struct Ion , arid twenuty bn_uildilng types.
Tine data lend tfiemunse lves to traditmomual
spatiality (me , tiiey can be viewed on a
nuiap of the US). but they also fall omnto
muonispatnaf .i\OS luke dale of construction ,
physical scale , degree of public access ,
arid the luke . Inn thus. ’ case oh ulale amnd s u e
(X ,mnid Y . respoclively), if we u nit our
ss. ’lectu onm to post-Civil War , we cain look
for this.’ World Tm. u ha Center un thin_I north-
s.” .ist amid Gr. mmul ’ s tonimb ,nI line lower left ,
, ~~~~~~~ , ,, ,
~,
- - - - - --
~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~
Tiums themne will niclumdo unuclum sts. ”n in ig nr 1
cedures tbial pmov us.Io ths. - in open cbnamng-
mug , nuonibinear ,i\t ’s wb imln _’ thus. ” uss. ”m :o inn rn;
inn order to “ sf nmeas.l on_il ” s.nvor lapping
data. Whiat we sh ou ld lt,’,mini .ire lessons
comucer lnunug people ’s ability to cms. sm te
mnienlol sp.mceS an nd linen to so ,mmc lr Ibienn
A critical focus ot fuirlb men researc h
involves .n set of themunes m ovin g In_u do
with lbne active enigagemnomnb of line uss.”m inn
tine ennvironnmuieruta l space of tIne in u ts.”m face ,
expamndinng tbne spatial s.Io rnaunu to emico nnu -
pass tine real-space chian - is. ’ten ms ti s.’~ of
user action s Tbne oven mull unnlemitio n i5 to
ren der line sysberu u coqnnuzam ’mt of bin_nw thus. ”
n_user us operatnng in his personal spacs.n.
.IS Ihnis space unulerse cis wutbn the sh,mmo s. 1
spare of the inb n_” m b, ’mca durecbuoi ’i al mtms. ’s i n n
Iookninq. sfneakurm n,1 toucinung. gestui rmlng.
,
togetbie r with a systenun .nw, in s.”m ness ot
user positnoin amnd proxi n unit ies
Annnomng these thue nui es is t u e ,iw ;mns. ”uin_”ss of
where tine user is looking Eye con ut,ms. ’l is
ann inunportanut adlulmuct inn inn _ mnnamn m ien pen -
soinal e\s.lbiamiqe amid , inn gelneral . ,n prnnius.”
imndicator of t ue focus oh ,mctuvs. ” .iw ,nn em ness
Pm-
- m~~ ’~~~~~~~~~~ ‘ - ‘ -
j
 This. ” opponlumnu il’,’ bnn _ ”rn _ ’ us ts.nn, .m rruonug olhis. ”n
Ibu nmu gs , .ini et-s. ’ c an nt nn ill s. ’,I m n t mm , ul s.’,m mm m
“
~~
s.’n ,m . ” tbn .mI us , a nh msp l.m n ,- tiu ,ml points , paris ,
.‘oam mus l m , m ~s. ’ln ; , ,ms ,m fn _ i n uc tmo m n of ntbus. ’ns. ’ Ibus. ’
usn_’n us kun_ nkunu g In this. ” n_”omnt s.’ t ob Ihi s. ”
unuu ,Ign_ ’rn,- inn SDMS o ton ulnsn~’u usst ’tI , ps.is
Span_ ’e n.m mgu mrg bechu mn ugui es tbn ,il ps.’ nnuui t
thus. ’:1’, :;ts. ’iu u ti n knnt ntt tt Irs. ’ ns. ’ Ibis. ” uus s.” m in; inn
thus. ” space of thus. ” uni ts. ’n boos. ” , plus Ibis. ’ un;s. ’m
hin t , .iltutiis.Ie , hi ,i n,s.’ i ntri n sic iiss. ” n; ‘\ :;t:;
ts.’m mu ,nt h u t 1 ’ , I ‘ann i e :;ln ,is. ’s. ’ 5s. ’mi n ;t ”m :; ummlot i
1mm m: ;m \ s. ’ln, uhus lnoss. ’tI ,ihioiil a st unt oh “l.mh i

.
~
s u b nl m tm s. ”s m uuigbit umic liiul s. ’ s.’vs. ’ni the tn t m , ml acks.”t as hnu u ltomus , cuith bunk s , on s. ’p.ii uls. ’ tts. ’:;
s.””s.amii ple of .m sp.mti , ills., duspem sed ss. ’t oh tt ii u1ti s.’st, ml nlms h ,i s. ’om n upu ils.’n in rIs.’m “ n s. ’t. minIs. ’
uIn_ ”nuus , ~un_ ’rfu ,m~ s i, i ’ s. ’s , s.’, ms.’bi u t nt-h rich m li nt tu n i n _ um s. ’ n 1s.’mm n.m kin us.~ thus. ” nnu un nuns. ’nut , mr
~
t

“b .mlks ” whie ni en,n_’ ,m ths.Inn _”sss.” s.l t in , Ibus. ’ uiss. ”n ,
Ibis. ” s.Im recbe d g.m .s. ’ n mss. ’nI Ii’, Ibis. ’ sn, sbs.’m mm ,ms
.mn inuu lnluci t ‘‘ cn_ nnu un nu,mmnd ’’ n_un .mcl ml ss.” ls. ”c
tin_un A mun_ulbu s. ”m e”s.aru ulnl n_’ would I us. ” .ini
unuraqe , s.mn, , m nusip, wh umt ’b n Ioc,mll n, s.”x p.mnu ds
.ini_ I gain s detail as • m bu n ch _nm i s.ul Ibis. ” pain it
amid dn_ lnmlt uonn of ‘‘looks ’’
posu hun_unu .mm ud .itliliids.’ nit Ibis. ’ iiss.’n ‘\ muno nu g
otbu em h um notion us , su ic fu kin, itt Is. ’,Igs. ’ s.’,m m u
lis.”lp tin ns. ’ n_ ’sl ,ml ulu s hu hr. it ’kmn ug con ul. ms. ’t Of On i
s. ’m masH ocuml s. um um s.’hn_ ”m , m u u.m kmnu g ss.’nm sinu g
nt’I us. ”mn _ ’ n_ inns. ” is lookin g .m minors. ’ is. ’. mlu , ;lio
pr unpn_ usil non i urn a sIn, n u .mm ru u c am it iron inn ns. ’m it

I b i s.’ ss.”i rss.’n_nt sp in ’s. ’ urn .mnu d ,it tins. ” imi ln_ ”m -

b, mcs.’ umuclui d s.”s st star ii .int . m ns. ”n ross unb Ibis. ”

u ser m resi n bueln .1 lb m s.” lou is.” ol .ipp ounu tmm non ubs
ur n Ibi s.’ nui s.”duo ron_urn . s. ’sl’ns. ’( ’u. mll \ this. ” iups. ’nr
nu s.’ss n_nh Ibi s.” cbr.iu m , inn v ils. ’s Ibis. ’ uuss. ’n to gel
(II) until n_nb Ibis. ” cbn .iim Ibis.” nuuoms. ” umu nnuu s. ’s.li ,ml& ”ln,
tn_u enl(1.ige bumnn is elb w ibhu Ibi s.” u1.i b ,i . (3es-
lu ri n g, ,m n nn i waving, p omnulm mu g s.’5h”s.’ci,ill t
mu cs. ur u l n _ unn (’Im( nm u witbu linu s. ” of s ig bmt un u uhn c.m
tuonis cap lum n s.”n_I Ibim ot i ghu ulnus.n h )tn i su ns. ’ s. ’t s. ’
tnoc kunl (], Ct’(uuml(l en _In_nw thus. ” nr uunn ms. ’ In, its. ’
~
s1n , mu ’s.” LieI ’~ves.”ni u uss.’m •iniil :;\ sts. ’n mu nt’mlb u
58 conuimu it mniu ’ .ml vs.’ nu n” .in unri g

— -~~~~~-
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ‘-~~‘ - “-‘-—~~~~“
 With body sensing in the user near-field ,
pushing items of virtual data about in a
now-tangible 3-D space arises as a pos-
subility. Or , traffic-patr ol-like direction of
items str eaming by in patterns for on-the-
fl y perusal . The dynamics of orchestra-
tuon , literall y luke those of conducting a
symphony, arise as realities, especially
pertinent in an environment of spatially
distinct sounds and voices in an octa-
phoni c surround. Ponnting to virt ua l
• talkers with indications to speak , to hurry
up, to pause, becomes repertorial for the
user , now ‘ fleshed out ” at least minimally
in dot form in the augmented space of
the interface,
Voice direction with eye contact , a natu-
ral combination in the extra system real
world , persist in the realm of user-system
interchange as a viable modality. The
ability to voice-activate takes on more
precise meaning and possibilities in con-
junction with the ability to address by
voice and eye simultaneously in a coor-
dinated fashion. To be able to point by
gesture as well defines yet an additional
dimension of voice-and-eye dynamics.
___________
These themes , s omewhat syno pti c ally
expressed . implicate actions in an
explicit space. coextensive with the real
room space at the user-system interface ,
a shared space which can be artfully
integrated with the virtual spaces which
have been the focus of this , our work ,
so far.
At stake here is a user-system interface ,
a data space . so enriched and quick-
ened that the human becomes more
than a dimensionless point , the space at - ‘
the interface something other than empty
volumes. The long-term goal is the
utmost in usability, where the user ’s nat-
ural modalities and capacities for commu-
nucative expression meet with perceptive ,
complementary system response.
-
-
59
J
Copyright .‘ 1979by the
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology. All rights
res.r’ved . l’h e contents of
this publ ication may not be
reproduced in any form with-
out permission of copyright
owner.
Printed in the United States
of Amer ica
Library ot Cong ress Number
78—78256
60
I’ bin _ ” ‘. is.’nt 5 arud conmcli ismunm is rn th u s mIt i55 i\t ’t V~knuIs
~
ni ns. ’ut ,ims. ’ tbnoss.” of Ibis. ” ,mn _ ilhin _ nm . .mns.1 shun _un_ mId M,mnu.mn is.’mi m n_ ’mit l m ubomnmuatut un u Sn, n;t, ’in n:;
not u s. ’ mm r ts. ’ n pm s.”tonI .ms nis. ’i’s.’ss ,i mi ln, ms. ’prs. ” C~s.imu ipn_ mIs.’m (.i’ m.ipbi ucs
~
seilh um ig this.’ s. nt ims.’isil pnulus. ’ios , e\pm s.”ss n_nm I’vloti - l’vl.in_ ” him us. ’ Sludues
inumplied . oh ths. ’ 1 ’)s. ”ts. ’niss. ’ A lt , m mm ’s. ’tl (,3 onuunui uniun ’,mt uomus Ms. tiio
”
~ ~
Research f’ m s. ’s.ls.” n ’ts -\gs.’mm n ’n,, or Ibis.” UmlnIs. ’d
,t,
~‘ ils.’s is. ” . s.’n mmm i men it Pm in ulm m ug
n_,
I bums t t n l n u nmi s. ” bias l’s. s. ” s. ’mi pm mn ut s. ’d mu .ini s.’dn
Work Spn umisn ’ms. ’ti Inn , liar m ot 400(1m ’m npl s. ’:; Suippls.” iuus. ”ril.il tum rm ml : ;
L )eb s.’r uss. ’ .\ ~ It ,mm in’s. ’t I f-Iess.’,mm cbn Pm ols.” chs S nm pm nil mmig I isi\ s.’ ins. ’s.’r u aL’l, in us. ‘j tn m ’n n n
‘\ ~ ts. ’m ion, c)thics.” ,it NLtt oh Rs.’se ,mmcbu
I.) ?t us. ’s. ’ m it (::n,bs.’m m nt ’luu ’s
Tec’bm m un_nIn_ug’,’ l131’vI u_ ”s. nn ~0nm .it ian i
Cn_nr ’m nn uuo mi d Sn, sts.’m nmn ; “.t l, nt ” m m ns. ’l mn _ ’s Pmn ’s.n~ n ,mn nm 1s.’kbm nn n nu x i,.” t nnpt nm ,itu on
~
Cointn. mcl nuu im u ul u s. ” n M1) .APn_) . - 7 ’ — C Pod : Bs.’ll Nonlb ms. ’mn Rs. ’:;s. ’, u i , ’ii
~ ~
Con ’u tn. m n ’l pen n_nil 1 Octnnbs.”n i ‘P lb in u u n_ iq b i
~ MI 1 In ud u us lm r,mI I i.m ist ’ru Pmon ir ,im ’ni
dO Ss.”lnts.” ni n l ’ns.’r 1P~’O r
Inn , Chin is i,u nu I is, ’lis. ’nt n- ; km
b”b is.ntt ngr aphun,
~
Wn_urk Penfuurm uis.”d h’, Ds.”suqmus.’d tin, Betst Ftiu ’ks.’n ,
A~cbnmt s. ’s.’ln ins. ’ lV 1o(, blmn1n _” u,,” ms. ni p MIT [lesign i Sent it ’s. ’s
~
l\ulassochuumss.” tts Im ist ulu its. ” at In_ ”chmnn_uls.nqv n_ .’t,’nn nr p s. ’nss. ” tI mu F is.’l~ s.’tuc.i I i gbn b . u : I
Prinicup.ml In vestigator rvls.”duu in’s bn, In, poor .i~ ib i ns. ’ F liii use , line
F “ nn_uts. ”ss nnn r hun _ holos Nhs.”qrn_npnunite Prim nIs.nl Lu’, F- .iprs.1 Sent us. ’s.’ I’ m s.”sn ;
~ ~
1.~s.nu in id ht Slam I sin s. Ian n,
Distribution :
Un lumin ile n_ I
t
‘
1!
L
_ _ _ _