The C-Slate project is developing a teleconferencing system that enables easy and efficient electronic two-way collaboration in the workplace. The aim is to define a reference workstation for collaboration between knowledge workers that allows the sharing of tasks with sufficient intensity, clarity and effectiveness that travel, with its attendant waste of resources and creative time, is rendered unnecessary in many cases.

The system allows two people to work together on a document, brainstorm on a whiteboard or play a game, in comfort. Application sharing, video and audio are the key technologies involved and we are currently explorating the first two of these. Sharing of tasks is supported by good face to face displays and two-handed tablet work surfaces.

Some of the key features of the C-Slate include using stereo vision to build a tabletop multi-touch system that enables the users to use their non-dominant hand to manipulate virtual objects on the screen with simultaneous high-resolution stylus input from the dominant hand, an adaptive recognition system that allows users to train the system to respond to hand gestures and objects of their choice; and "phantom presence" in which the hands of one collaborator appear hovering over the desktop of the other, allowing very easy turn taking through natural social cues.

Demos                (click below to play videos)

The C-Slate concept.

A three-minute .ram video presentation on the C-Slate.

Touch detection.

A .ram video demonstrating accurate touch detection.

Phantom Presence.

The remote hand is seen on the users "slate" to provide useful visual cues and seamless turn taking protocol. The hand's opacity is a function of its distance from the surface.

Techfest 2007 postcard (.pdf)

Scientific publications

1. S. Izadi, A. Agarwal, A. Criminisi, J. Winn, A. Blake and A. Fitzgibbon. C-Slate: Exploring Remote Collaboration on Horizontal Multi-touch Surfaces. In Proc. IEEE Tabletop 2007, Newport, RI, USA.
2. A. Agarwal, S. Izadi, M. Chandraker and A. Blake. High Precision Multi-touch Sensing on Surfaces using Overhead Cameras. In Proc. IEEE Tabletop 2007, Newport, RI, USA.
3. T. Deselaers, A. Criminisi, J. Winn and A. Agarwal. Incorporating On-demand Stereo for Real Time Recognition. In Proc. IEEE CVPR 2007.