In daily business tasks, human beings are confronted with a large amount of data that has to be read, modified and re-entered into the system. This requires an intuitive user interaction in order to not hinder the task at hand. This interaction can be done through a single-user device, but also simultaneously on common workspaces. The interaction with data can be done on tabletops, at vertical interactive boards, on mobile phones or in immersive virtual environments.

The ICVR groups works in all the areas mentioned above to realize intuitive interfaces and to integrate them into the corresponding tasks and processes. For tabletop applications, the group focuses on devices that can be used without any prior knowledge, since they are already known from the ‘analog’ world. While these systems were developed for projection systems only, later research focused on implementing intuitive interaction on LC screens.

More recently, the interaction capabilities were extended from “on the tabletop” to “above the tabletop”, allowing for gesturing and pointing to artifacts on the tabletop and also to output these NVCs to blind users. Also vertical interaction spaces were already addressed by the ICVR group, allowing transferring deictic gestures during a net-based collaboration.

Besides research in technical interface design, also applications are in the focus of the group. Kunz et al. introduced ways how IT could support teamwork in general, and more specific a technical approach to support the Metaplan method was introduced with Innoplan, which already used a combination of horizontal and vertical interactive surfaces.