Bridging Physical and Virtual Worlds with Electronic Tags

The role of computers in the modern office has tended to split our activities between virtual interactions in the realm of the computer and physical interactions with real objects that have been part of the traditional office infrastructure. This paper discusses a variety of scenarios we have implemented in which the physical world can be invisibly and seamlessly augmented with electronic tags in order to connect physical objects with virtual representations or computational functionality. We demonstrate the utility of linking physical objects to electronic services and actions that are naturally associated with their form (e.g., a dictionary and a web-based translation service). Unlike previous work in this area, we have focused on uniquely combining four inexpensive technologies with off-the-shelf applications, everyday objects, and computational devices.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1999
• Where: CHI
• Authors: Roy Want, Kenneth P. Fishkin, Anuj Gujar, Beverly L. Harrison
• Keywords: CHI 1999, Human Computer Interaction, Physical Interactions, Physical Objects, Traditional Office Infrastructure