nsquared presenter for iPhone

As a seasonal gift from nsquared we are happy to offer you the iPhone version of nsquared presenter for free.
With nsquared presenter for iPhone you can send images and movies directly to your digital tables, touch screens and presentation screens that are running nsquared presenter.

iPhone 5s running nsquared presenter

Download nsquared presenter for iPhone from here.

You can send content from your iPad to nsquared presenter screens

The Apple iPad is found in many meeting rooms being clutched by individuals as their life support systems. The iPad contains their email, calendar, and a range of other important business documents. Yet in a meeting the iPad represents an isolating and personal device. With nsquared presenter digital tables, interactive touch screens and presentation screens can display content from an iPad to be shared with the group for discussion.
Here some examples of how people are using nsquared presenter and iPads:

• A sales person keeps a range of product images on their iPad and shares the relevant images on a digital table with customers as required.
• A sales team collates ideas from their personal devices to a digital table to create a new presentation.
• Students collect research materials on their iPads and then gather around their digital table in the library to create group projects. 
• A teacher shares question sheets from their iPad to the digital table for a group of students to discuss and answer.
• A designer shares sketches from their iPad with clients around a touch table.
• A project team share progress reports from their iPads to the digital table in their meeting room in their weekly status meetings.

Sharing content from iPad to digital tables using nsquared presenter

We are growing again!

With more and more digital tables being loved by our customers we are growing our team again. We need a salesperson and a graduate developer to join our team.

If you are looking for a challenging new role in a team that is intent on putting shared screen technology in more places then please get in touch.

We are recruiting a junior developer to help us with development of vision based solutions using technologies such as kinect.

We are also looking for an energetic young sales person that can help our team with customer interactions, product demonstrations and closing deals.

Both of our new team members will need be Australian citizens or hold Australian Permanent residency visas.

If you, or someone you know, are interested in joining nsquared please send us a cover letter and your resume to jobs@nsquaredsolutions.com

You can load PowerPoint files with nsquared thoughts

PowerPoint files are everywhere in the workplace. PowerPoint is used to describe the financial position of a company, the sales pitch for a product, the concept for a new project, and countless other scenarios. With nsquared thoughts you can load those PowerPoint slide decks directly onto your digital table and annotate them as a group. Here some examples of how people are using nsquared thoughts and PowerPoint files:

1. A sales team discusses how to improve existing presentations around their touch table.
2. A sales person presents ideas to clients, the clients get involved with directly annotating the slides themselves
3. A project team incorporates slides from a PowerPoint deck into a conversation involving other sketches on their digital table.
4. A management team uses slides from their company vision PowerPoint deck to determine the validity of new project proposals.
5. A financial team uses PowerPoint slides to discuss the quarterly results of their company subsidiaries at their digital table.
6. An investment team discusses the different pitches they have heard each week and display the PowerPoint slides from each pitch on their table.

Find out more about nsquared thoughts 

Introducing "Bet You Didn't Know"

A weekly segment that goes more in depth to the functionality and capabilities of nsquared software. Keeping you in touch with your digital table and helping you to get more from your interactive, shared experience.

“Bet You Didn’t Know” will introduce you to all the latest application releases, newest features, updates, bug fixes, as well give you a comfortable familiarity with your nsquared admin portal.

Learn how you can WOW colleagues, co-workers, customers and clients with your leading edge skills.

Stay in tune and in touch and turn that Bet you Didn’t into a Bet you Did! 

5 Reasons Why Libraries Love Digital Tables

At nsquared we believe that technology can sometimes be very isolating, focusing too much on attention on personal, single user devices. 

We are creating a future where shared screen technology will become part of communal spaces. These spaces will be enhanced with interfaces like digital tables to create shared experiences. 

Since we started selling software for digital tables 5 years ago we have seen a steady adoption of digital tables in local libraries. The libraries are using the digital tables as way of bringing people from the community together, to learn, explore information and collaborate. We have put together a couple of case studies of libraries around world, you can read how Sunnyvale public library is using their digital table, to engage children, and find out what Toowoomba City Library is doing with their table to engage the community.

Libraries love digital tables because they:

1. Enrich visitor interactions

2. Bring people together with digital content

3. Encourage collaborative learning and exploration

4. Provide and interactive display of library information & services

5. Meet the future technology needs of their community

Digital tables such as the Samsung SUR40 with Microsoft PixelSense bring people together to communication, collaborate and connect - it is the most advanced, immersive experience of digital communication. 

Find out more information on innovative local libraries by checking our our latest newsletter here or emailing us at enquiries@nsquaredsolutions.com 

Tricks & Treats - New Halloween Theme

New Halloween Theme!

For the month of October we have jumped straight into the Halloween spirit. With All Hallow's Eve just around the corner, our team have unleashed a new set of 17 new Halloween themed assets guaranteed to thrill and excite. 

“These spooky words will scare your socks off! Celebrate this Halloween by learning to spell all the beasts and ghouls you might see in the night. Trick or Treat!” - how could you resist? 

You can now download these in-app Halloween content packs from three of our FREE Windows 8 education applications,

-   nsquared herding

-   nsquared makewords

-   nsquared snap

nsquared herding

A multi-user game that teaches object recognition and basic counting. The game offers both competitive and collaborative opportunities. Players win points for collecting the correct number of required objects.

http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/nsquared-herding/93f9f3cf-6b52-4afb-ba7e-3ea12dd352f7

nsquared makewords

This structured educational game will help students learn object recognition and differentiation, and improve their recall and spelling.

http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/nsquared-makewords/e182deac-77d6-4679-91a9-71ebfea82515

nsquared snap

This turn-taking memory game requires students to match overturned cards. Only two cards may be turned over at any one time in attempt to find a matching pair.

http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/611c6c14-d7cd-45ec-a90c-ba87236468a6

Join the spooky spirit today and download these fun content packs!

Our Story, Our Goal

nsquared is a leading edge development company that specialises in creating multi-user, massive multi-touch software for digital tables. We pride ourselves on standing out from the crowd by delivering unique, innovative and highly functional off-the-shelf products. Our customers can be found across a wide variety of vertical market sectors and backgrounds.

We have one ambitious, straightforward goal; to get people talking and collaborating together again to move the world forward, by putting digital tables everywhere. 

Our goal motivates us to design and build robust applications that work seamlessly in 360 degree, collaborative environments across a variety of platforms. We already have a number of amazing, forward thinking clients in business, education, government and hospitality that are embracing the vision and using our products to enhance and improve their spaces.

Each of our products is thoughtfully designed to stimulate conversation, encourage collaboration and create deep, long-lasting connections with people. Our customers recognize this and choose us because our software empowers them with the tools that make their content more meaningful.

nsquared is Australia’s only Microsoft Premier Partner for PixelSense and one of seven Premier Partners around the globe. nsquared has an extensive global footprint and our software can be found across the world in the Unites States, United Kingdom, Europe and Australia.

Get ahead of the curve and ask us how nsquared products can take your organization to the cutting edge today. Email us - enquiries@nsquaredsolutions.com  

Bringing Minority Report to Your Meeting Room

The first thing that comes to mind for most people when we explain what we do is, “You mean like Minority Report?”, our response is usually mixed.

When Minority Report came out in 2002, it set a precedent for the concept of future computing. In this scene, Tom Cruise is seen depicting manipulating digital content on an interactive screen through a series of remote hand gestures.

As we work with leading edge technology we often become associated with films such as this, which is great because it provides an initial context, but the interactive gesture computing we do is not science fiction.

At nsquared we believe the future of computing is in digital tabletop solutions. In the next few years digital tables will be found in common meeting space areas. We are excited by this vision and our goal to make this technology a practical reality and bring businesses into the future.

Our multi-touch, multi-user products are cutting edge and many of our customers are beginning to implement our solutions to improve their meeting spaces. Take for example, nsquared presenter allows you to creatively collaborate and deliver presentations using all the devices you find in a meeting room.

Read here how international property group, Longton is using nsquared presenter to impress clients during sales presentations.

While Minority Report was a creative work of fiction, the truth is technology like it is available today and is already being used by forward thinking organizations that want to take their businesses to the next level.

If would like to learn how you can take your meeting room to new heights email us at enquiries@nsquaredsolutions.com

Free PDF Download - An Introduction to Digital Tables

Over the last couple of weeks we continue to be asked the key questions,  “what’s a digital table?” and “why do we need one”?

The demand and interest in digital tables is evident and increasing. From local libraries, to real estate agencies, to modern business boardrooms, it’s great to see how individuals and organizations are thinking forward and realizing the true value of creating a digitized, collaborative meeting space.

We have been working with digital tables since 2007 and are passionate about using technology that supports true “social” face to face communication. Digital tables, or digitables, provide a unified multi-user experience that enriches conversation and engagement.

To assist those considering enhancing their spaces, we have taken the time to put together a simple PDF document.

This FREE PDF document contains everything you should consider when implementing a digital table including,

- Number of touch points required – Find out what will give you a premium experience

- Screen Size and orientation – What’s best fit for your environment?

- Lighting – Is the hardware suitable?

- Multi-User Software - How do you enable multiple people to interact? What outcomes do you want to achieve?

And more!

If you have more questions regarding digital table solutions for your space, get in contact with us today. Email us directly at enquiries@nsquaredsolutions.com.

A new, social way to explore the world

There is no rest to be had here in the nsquared studio, we have been busy working away on our latest multi-user, multi-touch application.

Introducing nsquared maps, a new, social way to explore the world!

This unique multi-user application allows for teams to gather around a digital table such as the Samsung SUR40 or Microsoft Perceptive Pixel screen and work with maps together.

nsquared maps features an individual map for each person. Each map can be easily resized or rotated with intuitive hand gestures. When you find a map you wish to keep, simply save the map for loading at a later date. You can even annotate maps with shapes and freehand drawing, plot routes, add your own pins, and import geo feeds.

This premium multi-touch application enables more fluid, meaningful conversation within the team. No need to look over small mobile screens or tablets, or turn your back to an audience to by referring to a vertical screen -  work together in a 360 degree, tabletop environment to view and annotate digital maps together. Team members can contribute to the discussion by bringing up their own individual maps, such as a company location, emergency reports or news source on the same screen. Communication becomes effortless, more impactful and faster as peers can easily see what their colleagues are wanting to share across the screen.

Features

-          Individual maps can be brought up for each user

-          Resize, reorient and rotate maps on the table

-          Draw freehand, Import GEO feeds, drop pins, plot routes,

-          Save and share maps

-          Point of Interest searches (eg. Effiel Tower, Statue of Liberty)

Benefits

-          Enable and enhance collaboration

-          Social way to explore virtual maps

-          Use data from external feeds for better planning and learning

-          Create, save and re-load maps for quick viewing

Ideal for

-          Emergency Planning Centres

-          Business Meeting rooms

-          Schools, Universities, Libraries and Museums

-          Real Estate Offices

If you are interested in learning more about this application, feel free to send us an email at enquiries@nsquaredsolutions.com or call us on +61 2 9262 3386.

Find out about our latest products and services by subscribing to our nsquared newsletter.

nsquared in Ibiza!

Today’s nsquared blog post comes to you from the sandy, holiday beaches of Ibiza.

nsquared was recently approached by Grand Palladium Palace Ibiza Resort & Spa to provide software for their Samsung SUR40 units. In particular, the client was looking for an innovative, easy-to-use solution to help them increase their brand awareness and create a unique, memorable holiday experience for their guests. 

Multiple SUR40 units were deployed, situated in the lobby area of the brand new Ushuaia Tower Hotel and in the exclusive Presidential suite.

To enhance the resort's guest experiences with the digital tables, nsquared was able to offer a range of our off-the-shelf applications nsquared minesweeper, nsquared treasure hunter, nsquared spacelanes, nsquared 21 and nsquared jigsaw. Grand Palladium further embellished their nsquared applications through the use of the nsquared admin tool. Our unique admin tool empowers companies to upload their branded videos and images to display on the tabletops. 

Grand Palladium Palace Client and Project Manager, Kamal Rifai, expressed his appreciation to the nsquared team,

“Thank you for your help Dr Neil and special thanks to Mitan. He was very helpful and very knowledgeable and thanks to him we have developed top of the notch solutions”

As the technological landscape changes, forward-thinking companies like Grand Palladium Palace Ibiza Resort & Spa are embracing new technologies that enrich guest interaction.

For more information on nsquared products please contact +61 2 9262 3386 or email info@nsquaredsolutions.com

Increase customer engagement with nsquared media viewer

Here at nsquared we develop beautifully crafted Kinect for Windows applications that are available for purchase today and customizable with your own content. 

One of our latest Kinect applications, nsquared media viewer, is an innovative solution to display your company’s marketing material and provide your customers with an awesome and memorable user experience.

nsquared media viewer leverages the Kinect for Windows gesture based technology to allow clients to interact with content in an amazing new way. This application is perfectly designed for building lobbies, experience centers, events and corporate locations because it allows guests walk up and within seconds start browsing images and videos by category through a stylish, customizable carousel.

Like all of our Kinect for Windows applications, we empower you with an admin tool to remotely customize and update the content displayed on screen. Our accessible admin tool enables staff to upload, edit and view usage statistics using our unique online content portal from anywhere in the world.

Five key benefits of nsquared media viewer:

1. Display interactive content on almost any digital screen at a fraction of the cost of other solutions

2. Upload, Edit, and view detail usage statistics using the online content portal

3. Integrate social media - configure Twitter hashtags and screen names to display across the screen

4. Innovative, easy to setup and manageable technology

5. Engaging way for your customers to get involved with your brand, while also leaving a lasting impression

If you are interested in using this new technology to increase your company’s brand awareness and customer engagement, please contact us today to find how you can benefit from nsquared media viewer 

USA: +1 206 236 0354  or  AUS: +61 2 9262 3386 or Kinect@nsquaredsolutions.com

Microsoft Education Blog recommends nsquared Windows 8 apps (Twice!)

The interest and excitement for our Windows 8 education apps continues to increase as nsquared is featured not once, but twice in articles published on The Australian Education Blog this week.

 Ray Fleming, a member of the Australian Microsoft Education team, authors the blog which focuses on what’s interesting in Education IT in Australia.

Read his article, “Collaborative learning with Windows 8 multi-touch apps– flip the screen over!” here -

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/education/archive/2013/06/19/collaborative-learning-with-windows-8-multi-touch-apps-flip-the-screen-over.aspx

And read his more recent post, “Collaborating on Chemistry on a Windows 8 touch slate” here -

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/education/archive/2013/06/20/collaborating-on-chemistry-on-a-windows-8-touch-slate.aspx

Thanks Ray! :)

nsquared feature in The Australian

Well look what we’ve just found in the nsquared archive…

Our highly publicized feature in The Australian!

Chris Griffith, a prominent IT writer for The Australian, visited our nsquared technology studio in Sydney to have a chat about the power of social computing around the Samsung SUR40.

The original article was published on July 10, 2012 – Read it here,

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/personal-tech/samsung-overturns-regular-computer-design-with-the-microsoft-surface-table/story-e6frgazf-1226421861385

We are happy to say that more than 18 months later there continues to be a  high and increasing demand for the Samsung SUR40 (and other multi-user tables) and our off the shelf applications. We have a broad range of customers from business to education, retail to hospitality – both here locally in Australia and across the globe.

Today you can find the SUR40 running our nsquared software in many schools, universities, museums, hotel foyers and even real estate offices!

Spark your curiosity?

Find out more about increasing productivity, collaboration and creativity in your spaces today by contacting us on +61 2 9262 3386 or email us – info@nsquaredsolutions.com 

How Your Business Can Benefit from a Digital Table

Are you tired of attending the same boardroom and client meetings? Are you fed up with competing for attention and compelling customers to focus on the same projected screen? Perhaps you just can't quite see what your teammate is trying to share with you on their tablet or mobile screen.

Why not revolutionize your business meeting space with a digital table? Take your meetings to the 21st Century and present your digital content horizontally with a group of people around a 360 degree interface. Better yet, why not use software that integrates multiple devices to share that digital content?

For centuries tables have been used as a space for meetings, a place for sharing of ideas and discussion arenas for business development. Now, as modern society continues to focus on developing content and ideas on personal devices, it only makes sense that we share all our hard work with our colleagues in a more collaborative and open environment.

Everything we generate - our Office documents, images and videos, PDFs and Powerpoint presentations - can be placed on a digital table that is easier for everyone to see and review. Tables further support and enhance conversations by encouraging face-to-face communication and co-operation.

Benefits of a Digital Table

- Create strong engagement

- Keep attention focused

- Create a memorable experience 

- Enhance and enrich your conversations

- Increase productivity

- Easily share and annotate digital content

- Become green friendly, save on printing costs

For more information on digital tables and applications that can be used your business environment today , read our latest newsletter here: 

FREE Newsletter on Digital Tables

http://eepurl.com/AQf5D

Like what you've read? Let us know your thoughts by contacting us at enquiries@nsquaredsolutions.com 

Purchasing a Samsung SUR40 through nsquared in Australia

 
The nsquared sales team has just spent the last five full days presenting and demonstrating our software on the Samsung SUR40 at both the Australian CeBit and EduTech conferences. After generating all this excitement, it was only appropriate that we provide our readers with more information on this fantastic piece of hardware, how it could work for you and how you can purchase it today.

Why buy the Samsung SUR40?

This device  has the ability to create instant and deep emotional connections with its users. It does this by allowing them to interact in a social, collaborative manner around a table; by giving them the power to drive and create their own experiences. In the business scenario, once connections have been increased that can build trust, drive up sales, increase referrals and cement customer loyalty. For educators, connections with content drive deeper engagement for students, thus enhancing and enriching their learning experience.

Quick Tech Specs

• 40’’ Full HD LED Display
• Object Recognition
• Multi-touch, multi-user
• Scratch resistance, heavy duty protective Gorilla Glass (perfect for public spaces)
• WiFi, Bluetooth and Ethernet Connections

How it could work for you – Industries and Applications

The Samsung SUR40 has been deployed as an engaging device across a plethora of industries. We have seen businesses, universities, schools, hotels and  retail outlets continue to see quick returns on their investments. As we know, no hardware is useful without software running on it! We have a variety of off-the-shelf products that are ready and can be purchased today. Here’s a quick snapshot of what we have available:


Click Image to Enlarge
 


Each of these applications can be purchased separately and chosen to meet your needs. Every license of the application is perpetual and includes free updates. For more information on any of the applications listed above, please feel free to visit our website – www.nsquaredsolutions.com

How you can purchase it today

 

The Samsung SUR40 is available here in Australia, it can be ordered directly through us a sales@nsquaredsolutions.com  and can be delivered to your premises between 3-5 business days once payment has been made. ASK US HOW.
 

nsquared featured on Kinect for Windows Blog!

A little bit of media attention never hurts!

We are happy to share that we now have a featured article published on the Kinect for Windows Blog.

The blog post speaks about our three new exciting Kinect4Windows apps,

nsquared sky spelling 

nsquared hotel kiosk 

nsqaured media viewer

To read to full article, please see here.

Want to know more? Feel free to send us an email – info@nsquaredsolutions.com or call us directly on +61 2 9262 3386

New 55'' Perceptive Pixel @ nsquared studio

There are big smiles in the nsquared studio this week with the exciting delivery of the 55'' LED Multi-Touch Display by Perceptive Pixel!

Following our mission, we literally are putting digital tables everywhere. While the PPI screen is originally intended to be placed vertically, we have enhanced its multi-touch, multi-user capabilities by mounting it horizontally. If the display wasn't enticing enough, our LED, steel structure stand changes colours - perfect to blend into any educational, business or public space environment. 

5 cool features of this device include:

1.  Large 55'' Pro Cap Display (Projected Capacitive display)
2.  2.5'' trim profile
3.  1920 x 1080  HD
4.  Supports massive multi-touch, and input from 6 stylus simultaneously
5.  Built in colour correction 

We are very excited to have this new piece of hardware in the nsquared studio and look forward to adding and testing our variety of nsquared business, education and hospitality applications on it.

If you are interested or want to know more about this product and our software, please do not hesitate to ring us on + 61 2 9262 3386 or email enquiries@nsquaredsolutions.com. 

Taking the magic of touch technology to Tamworth

Yesterday nsquared traveled with our partners at Samsung and Worlds Best Technology Distributors to demonstrate the power of touch technology to Tamworth, New South Wales.

The event was hosted at the Tamworth TAFE and attended by a number of key decision makers, all of whom were interested in bringing leading edge technology to their students.

It was great to see the educators literally get their hands on the technology, a Samsung SUR40.

One of the main attractors was the nsquared presenter application. nsquared presenter allows you to collaboratively create and deliver presentations using all the devices you find in a meeting room – tablets, mobile phones, overhead projectors and multi-touch tables. Groups of people are able to come together to build a presentation “timeline” of content including slides, spreadsheets, documents, images and videos from different  files. The staff felt this application had the most potential for their educational environment as it has the ability for students collectively interact with their digital course material over a familiar table setting.

Some of the other crowd favorites included:

- nsquared circuits

- nsquared paint

- nsquared chemistry 

    We are very excited to be working with Team Tamworth and look forward to helping them engage their students through multi-touch technology!

Update: nsquared makewords on Windows 8. Perfect for the Surface Pro!

We have been working hard here in the nsquared studio to update our FREE educational app on the Windows 8 store - nsquared makewords. 

This educational game is aimed to help students (aged 3+) with object recognition, differentiation and to improve their recall and spelling. nsquared makewords has the ability to switch between a range of content packs, therefore allowing you to change and download new content as it is released.

Features 

- Multi Touch, Multi User (for up to 4 people)

- Drag tiles to spell different animals, objects, flags and more

- Competitive and co-operative learning against the clock

The update features the following:

- Fun music and sound effects

- Better, easier to use layout

- Great visual feedback for incorrect letters and words!

- Reshuffle the letters to make it easier to find the ones you're looking for 

- Use the bottom app bar to choose between vertical and table mode play

- Word order in each pack has been randomized for more replay-ability

- Completely revised and updated menu system

Please try nsquared makewords today for FREE - http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-au/app/nsquared-makewords/e182deac-77d6-4679-91a9-71ebfea82515  

An introduction to Digital Tables

Enhance the meeting room
conversation with a
digital table

A digital table defines an obvious meeting place, offers a true multi-user experience and enhances collaborative engagement. If you’ve started to think about purchasing a digital table then this article will help you decide what type of hardware and software you will need.

Tabletop computing and digital tables are becoming integrated into business life and work places at an increasing pace. The integration of these devices into business, education and sales spaces is largely in recognition of the increased value of collaborative activities over directed activities.

Where we’ve been using interactive whiteboards and relying on a single person to talk us through a PowerPoint presentation, we’re now engaging in higher levels of discussion for information sharing and problem solving. The technology needs to support and enhance this shift in behavior. While interactive whiteboards offer opportunities for some interaction (by one person who is often facing away from the audience) they cannot replace the humble table as a meeting place and they do not encourage face-to-face communication. 

Digital tables are obvious meeting spaces. The form factor of a table is perfect for face-to-face conversations and true multi-user experiences. The digital tabletop further supports and enhances conversations and collaboration by providing quick access to resources. Business, education and sales spaces consistently report increased engagement and long-term connection of participants interacting with digital tables, with corresponding increases in sales revenue and educational success.

Multi-user devices are designed to bring people together and help them to engage and connect at much deeper levels than they would normally. When single user devices are present, they often detract from collaborative experiences, providing distractions from the core conversation and in turn reducing the value of the conversation. Think about the differences in interactions between sitting around a dinner table and standing in front of a digital sign.

A digital table at an auto show

Microsoft released the first commercially available multi-user product, named “Microsoft Surface”, in 2008. 

Five years later Microsoft Surface’s successor, the Samsung SUR40, still provides a premium experience, though in a significantly sleeker form factor than its forebear. Following the lead of Microsoft and Samsung, various other hardware providers have also created digital tabletops. Some of them utilise vision systems and others continue with time-honoured and proven touch detection methods. Each has its benefits and drawbacks. These will be discussed briefly in the following passages.

While there is magic in the hardware, it is the software interface that will determine how the devices can be used and whether or not your space is set up for productive, engaging collaboration and discussion. The design of the software interface will determine the level of engagement and productivity that can be gained from your investment and whether or not your space is set up for true multi-user experiences. 

Multi Touch or Multi-User?

As a first step, decide what you need to achieve. Do you want to create:

1. a space that enables people to browse digital content and discover information; or
2. a space that enables several people to interact with each other and digital content seamlessly and simultaneously?

If you’re looking to achieve the latter, you’re looking to create a multi user space.

Digital multi-user spaces enable discussion and collaboration around digital content. To ensure that everyone around the table has equal access to what’s on the screen, you’ll require a table form factor with massive multi-touch capabilities, and a 360-degree software interface. 

How many touch points are required?

For premium experiences, we recommend that you allow for five to 10 touches per person that you plan to have around the table. That said, the decision will be highly budget dependent and for groups of two to ten people, the device and software both need to be capable of responding to a minimum of three simultaneous touches per person. This is especially true for smaller groups of two to four people. In a few cases, you might be able to get away with catering for fewer touches per person. This is generally due to the fact that as groups of adults get larger in number, less people in the group are likely to interact with the device simultaneously. Allow for three simultaneous screen touches per person at a minimum. 

Benefits of multi-user screen spaces and digital tabletops

A multi-user experience is one in which several people will be working on the same screen at the same time. A great multi-user experience can be created with a canvas where all users can face each other to directly interact while still sharing, creating and annotating digital content. Placing interactive screens horizontally, to act as the table around which the users can gather and engage, can create this digital canvas. 

In a sales meeting a digital table can help focus
people's attention on the content

The horizontal screen becomes a shared space for all the users to work together and focus on the task at hand. 

Compare this with many meeting room experiences where the participants arrive with personal devices (laptops, tablets, phones) and the activity on each device is hidden from the other people. This often leads to more distractions during the meeting as people start answering emails, chatting on IM or even other personal tasks rather than being focused on the meeting.

By keeping the people focused on the content, meetings around a digital table should be faster and more focused than those using an interactive whiteboard as the focus for the meeting.

The benefit of a table hosting the content, as opposed to a vertical screen, is that people are face to face and no one has their back to the rest of the team at any time. Vertical screens are often used for presentations, which are an exercise in pushing information out rather than creating a discussion involving everyone at the table. Horizontally mounted screens promote information sharing and problem solving better than vertically mounted screens. 

Screen Size

We consider 30” to be the minimum size required for a good experience by more than two users. Bigger is not necessarily better, once a horizontal screen gets past around 60” some areas on the screen will become hard to access by everyone sitting around the screen. Once a screen is bigger than 100” then the software needs to be designed with the consideration there will likely be an area in the center of the screen that will be hard for anyone to reach even if they’re standing. For digital tables, the most functional screen sizes are between 30 and 65 inches.

Screen orientation

For a true multi-user experience, the screen will need to be mounted horizontally like a table. This allows people to sit or stand around the device and meet as they always have, face to face around a table, and without extraneous distractions.

Placing the screen horizontally changes the way people can engage with the content.

Remember that as soon as there is any vertical component in the mounting (such as in the case of a lectern), it’s difficult to see the content on the screen from all angles and sides. Make sure that your multi-user space offers a horizontally mounted screen for multi-user engagement.

Do you want object recognition capabilities?

Do you want internal users to have quick, direct access to their own content?

Do you want to be able to place content or objects onto the table and invoke different behaviours? Do you want to be able to put your phone on the table and access specified content? If you want any of those features, you’ll need object recognition capabilities that only a vision system with camera-like functionality will provide.

Lighting

If the space has a lot of natural sunlight, or is flooded with halogen or other incandescent lighting, and the hardware you’re considering operates with an infrared vision system (such as the Samsung SUR40), you’re going to have to make some choices. 

These will most likely involve considering removing or reducing the infrared light sources by replacing halogen or other incandescent lighting with LED or CFC lighting; and (or also) the installation of physical screens like walls, or specialized infrared filtering film (3M’s PR 40 and PR 70 window films are known to block infrared sufficiently in several cases). Work with your supplier to determine what the best way forward is for you.

Software

The most important piece to the puzzle is the software. Just as the hardware needs to promote face-to-face interaction, so does the software. Whether the software is custom built or an off the shelf solution, it should always enable multiple people to interact simultaneously, and at least as they would if the table wasn’t a digital one.

Good multi-user experiences are those in which each person around the table can access the interface equally and easily no matter where they are located around the table. Everyone should be able to consider the content the right way up. No one should have to look at anything upside down. The software should automatically adjust items to the orientation of each individual viewing it.

In addition, those same people need to be able to rely on the device to respond without lag to each and every touch made. People-to people and people to digital content interactions should be intuitive, smooth, and relatively effortless.

Custom Build or Off the Shelf (OTS) Software?

The budget you have available will always be a factor for consideration. Generally speaking, off the shelf software will always be financially less taxing than having custom software built for your organization. Procurement times should also be far less for off the shelf solutions than for custom builds. As time goes on and the market for digital tables increases, it stands to reason that there will be more off the shelf solutions available.

Digital Table at Australian Museum in Sydney

There will always be cases where custom builds are required. That said, unless you already have significant experience using tabletop computers in day-to-day business activities, it’s always best to start with off the shelf offerings that provide close to what you think you need. Check the features. Many applications provide administrator tools that allow you to customize certain aspects of the application for your preferences or brand. This way you can spend time assessing whether you really need all of the features on your wish list, and whether the custom build you’d envisioned will be justified in terms of return on your investment (ROI). Good off the shelf software may be all you need and at the very least will allow you to determine your absolute requirements at significantly lower costs and delivery time frames than those associated with custom builds.

Sharing content with personal devices

People will often arrive to a meeting with content on their personal devices that they have gathered or created. A good tabletop experience will enable those people to easily transfer that content onto the digital table for the conversation. It should be a single hit transfer, where the materials being shared can be placed on the table without the need to constantly refer back to the personal device. Once the content is on the table, it is best for the personal device to be put away. Private personal devices are still an important part of the digital world and digital tables should interact with those devices in a way that promotes the content being shared when suitable. Ensure the software enables quick and easy transfer of content between personal and corporate devices where relevant use cases exist. 

Conclusion

Every situation and scenario is different, but wherever you are creating indoor spaces for people to gather in order to collaborate you can expect digital tables to enhance that experience. In the coming years you will start to see more and more digital tables emerge in meeting rooms, libraries, schools, universities and even as peoples’ work desks and in their homes.

Depending on the environment and number of people involved, different hardware options need to be considered. The software should always account for people approaching the table from any side and work seamlessly for all the participants around the table.

For More Information

If you have any more questions regarding about digital tables or which solution is right for you, contact us at nsquared:

Web: http://www.nsquaredsolutions.com 
Email: info@nsquaredsolutions.com 

AU Phone: +61 2 9262 3386 
USA Phone: +1 206 236 0354