Tabletop interfaces and interactive tables

Interactive table systems can be defined as large, horizontal touch screens around which participants sit or stand. What makes these systems special is the technology used to produce the touchscreen that they contain. In order to allow the equal participation of all participants, the screens need to be able to recognise many touches at the same time. Such screens, known as multi-touch screens, are the basis for the support of group interaction; interactive tables are instruments that allow the same graphical interface to be shared, creating a new paradigm in the use of machines and moving away from traditional personal computers.

By using an interactive table, a group of people can play together, against each other or in teams. They can work, accessing their own documents and viewing colleagues’, agreeing on changes and writing a final report together, shared from its first draft. A group of people can learn together, sharing reference materials, verbally comparing the more controversial parts and voting on a possible solution to a given question.

All these things and more are made easier by the use of interactive tables with specific software. While the table hardware is the system that allows the group to share the same interface, it is the software that creates the real service. For each specific requirement it is necessary to develop software that is specifically designed to achieve the required objective, to fit the nature of the documents to be used, and to achieve or support the intended interpersonal relationships. This is the role of Practix, producer of collaborative software that is more effective and appropriate to the needs of the client for the use of interactive tables.