Collaborative ambient systems by blow displays

Abstract

We implemented blow displays, which provide force feelings with no contact. Although blow displays can use only wind velocities and directions to represent information, they are less intrusive and less visually polluting to other media than other displays. We propose collaborative ambient systems to utilize blow displays' characteristics of spatiality and compatibility with other media. In collaborative ambient systems, blow displays direct the user to displays that provide rich information. Blow displays can also express information auxiliary to the main content the user is attending to. In this paper, we describe some ongoing applications and discuss their benefits and issues.