Enhancing Interaction in Architectural Presentations with Laser Pointers

Abstract

In a common meeting environment with projector-and-screen settings, the discussion may be dominated by a presenter who has the control of the content displayed. Although frequently used for architectural discussions, this digitally-engaged setting may not be optimal in its support of participation and discussion of design ideas. This paper presents a novel use of laser pointers to enhance the interaction in architectural presentations. A laser pointing system designed for a projector-and-screen environment was developed. To compare the performance of the laser pointer with other interaction devices, a controlled user study was carried out to test the efficiency of different devices in point-and-selection interactions. The usability of the system was also tested in a design critique. These two tests show that laser pointer is useful and able to encourage participation in group discussions. Details of the laser pointing system, the experiments and the results are reported in this paper.