Clearing the virtual window: connecting two locations with interactive public displays

Public displays offer the possibility to open a virtual window to another place by showing a live video feed from a remote location. In this paper, we describe our research investigating connecting two spaces with pervasive displays, where the ability to see through the virtual window was user controlled. The set-up was designed to resemble a frozen window, where the user was able to melt the surface using gesture input. We organized a four day field study with four alternating designs to evaluate our system, and collected feedback from 14 users through online surveys and focus groups. Our salient findings reveal that Ice Window was perceived as fun and interesting, and it has potential for facilitate awareness and informal ways of collaboration not only between the two locations, but also at one side of the display. People were most comfortable with a design that implemented two-sided melting of the ice. This was perceived as best able to indicate communication attempts between the two locations whilst respecting privacy.