Many researchers agree on the importance of face to face communication for situations with high potential for conflict or for starting cooperation between strangers. This holds for many design situations and implies a need for tools that allow undisturbed face-to-face discussion. Yet most groupware systems have been designed for telecooperation purposes, forcing groups to individually work at separate computers. Graspable interfaces like Real Reality, the EDC, tangible media, BUILD-it and others fill this gap. They share characteristics that play an important role for face-to-face cooperation.
In my research I am investigating tangible user interfaces in the context of cooperative use, especially in situations of modelling/co-constructing/designing. What are the causes for the often mentioned good experiences in group use of these tangible interfaces? What are the central characteristics that effect cooperation and interaction? How can we exploit this consciously in design? How does the real and the virtual interact in effecting human-human interaction?