Information Layout and Interaction on Virtual and Real Rotary Tables

Many tabletop systems have been developed, but few of them deal with the problems of visualizing and manipulating a large amount of information such as files on a table-top that is physically limited in size. In order to address this issue, we developed a rotary table system. The system recognizes users´ hand gestures, and the users can rotate the table virtually. The table acts as a scroll wheel, and users can see a great deal of information by scrolling the table. We investigated three layout methods: sequential, classification, and spiral. We investigated these on the system and conducted user studies. Moreover, we also developed a real rotary table by using a roller bearing and a round table- top. Then, we conducted comparative experiments on the usability and intuitiveness of the two rotary tables.