Tableportation

First part on my revenge over Nicolas!

Tableportation, by Interactive Design Institute (Ivrea, Italy) laureates Giorgio Olivero and Peggy Thoeny, is a system that allows café guests from different tables to observe each other and be observed.

People can draw light points on their table using touch, water or metal objects. The translucent surface is a matrix of touch-sensitive points; creating contact between adjacent points causes the light source below to illuminate. Activating specific combinations of metal points triggers different light behaviours. Video images of guests' activity are projected on the wall so that their edges overlap. This mosaic of table tops creates a space for new forms of social interactions. People can play with each other in the virtual space on the wall in ways they would never do in face-to-face situations.