New Project looking for Partners: Multitouch

Introduction
The main aim of the “generation and adaption of gestures and metaphors from reality to a multi-touch screen” project is to establish a set of examples to allow developers to create applications in an easy and intuitive way. If we want to follow the philosophy of create objects that enlarge the reality, is necessary to establish a set of gestures that allows us to interact with the machine in a realistic way. We have to keep in mind that multi-touch screens are two dimensions surfaces. It is clear that old ways of interacting with the machine (keyboard and mouse, for example) are obsolete when the aim is to have a real experience, and not only the data management. The essential touch gestures are already defined (tap, flick, pan, hold and others), but not the complex ones. We need them to transfer to the screen common actions of the real life. For example, if we want to open a car door, ¿What is the correct gesture to do it? In the philosophy of multi-touch screen use, we have to use one that simulates the real life and try to overcome it. One of the goal of the project is to define a set of gestures that translate to 2D screens 3D gestures. Similarly happens with reality metaphors. The multi-touch screen applications are still playing the same obsolete allegories that new technologies are intended to replace. We still use buttons, check boxes, navigation bars, and others, when in the reality there are knobs, door handles, switches, levers, … Nowadays, we think that we have to find a best metaphor for the opening mechanism of a car that a button . We want to develop an application that implements a wide set of multi-touch screen examples. We think that the best way to get it is developing an application that implements the services of a hotel:
- Facilities: swimming pool, restaurants, breakfast, gym, etc.
- Excursions
- Complementary offer: restaurants, bars, cars hire, airports, etc.
- Others

Background
Multi-touch screens are becoming a market standard. The number of them is increasing every day, been adapted to any device and utility. In this context, we detect a serious problem that affects to the applications’ development: there are not protocols defining man-machine interaction using multi-touch screens. Multi-touch technologies are becoming ubiquitous. The users are increasingly familiar with this new technology. Nowadays, multi-touch technologies are growing in popularity, especially among young users.
Some of these technologies are:
- Smart phones. iPhone, Android, Windows Phone 7 and others.
- Tablets. iPad, HP Slate, MSI Tablet and others.
- Tables. Microsoft Surface, Sony atracTable and others. Many of the services offered today by hotels (both holiday resorts and city facilities) require the intervention of an employee: • Excursion contracting
- Car hiring
- Tennis court reserve
- Others Developing this application, we will allow customers to perform these procedures by themselves, streamlining the hotel management.

Objective
The purpose of the multi-touch screens use is to achieve an interaction as realistic as possible with depicted objects. These objects have to be as close to reality as design can. The objects behaviour must to exceed user’s expectations. In Microsoft’s words: “To design such an experience, you should make objects do more than what is possible in the real world and not just replicate natural objects and interactions so that the objects stand apart from the real world. Super realistic objects with super realistic capabilities give people a sense of control that is not possible with other methods of interaction. ” The application will be developed on Microsoft Surface. It is an attractive and robust device. The users have to be able to interact with the table, regardless of technological background. This project has two objectives: • Establish an interaction standard. Develop a set of examples as wide as hotel services are. In this way, there will a repository of information related to multi-touch screens. • Develop the application that a hotel needs to been adapted to new technology. The standard will be tested if it meets the requirements of a real case.

Desired project partners
We are looking for a European tour operator. Our goal is to adapt the product to a real hotel management system. The prototype will be developed on a client provided by the partner. The partner must also be able to develop part of the integration with their own systems.

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