A large body of research on tangible interfaces, large displays, and interactive surfaces such as walls and tabletops has focused on the support of collaborative work within shared physical space. This research has been successful in developing a variety of technical solutions and conceptual work addressing the support of collaboration with particular technologies. However, the focus has tended to be on specific kinds of interface technologies, and less on commonalities or differences between them regarding the support of collaborative activity.

We propose shareable interfaces as a more inclusive term focusing on the kinds of activity to be supported rather than on the design of the interface per se (Sharp et al, 2007). Like groupware, they are intended to support people working together on and around the same content. However, they are designed for people who are physically co-located and co-present. It is assumed that shareable interfaces can enhance collaboration because of the various shareable properties afforded by the technology. In particular, a main attribute is the provision of multiple inputs that can support simultaneous interaction with content by group members. The technologies used include large wall displays, interactive walls and tabletops and tangibles.

This workshop, sponsored by the EPSRC Equator project, aims to draw together this work to create a more coherent research focus on collaborative co-located technologies. We will look for similarities and differences between technologies and focus on future directions in shareable interface research. This will be of interest to researchers with interests in HCI, CSCW, cognitive science, ethnography and studies of collaborative design. We also welcome participation from those working in potential application areas such as museums, education or crisis response.

The workshop will feature three invited talks and will include activity sessions to ground discussion and provide a shared focus. The keynote speakers will be:

- Chia Shen (Senior Research Scientist with Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Cambridge, MA, involved with the DiamondTouch Table project) http://www.merl.com/people/shen/

- Sergi Jorda (Associate Professor at Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona and one of the inventors of the reacTable and the reacTIVision software) http://www.iua.upf.es/~sergi/

- Kenton O'Hara, (Senior Scientist, Hewlett-Packard Labs, Bristol in the Mobile and Media Systems Lab) http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Kenton_Ohara/index.htm

The workshop is organised by Eva Hornecker, Paul Marshall and Yvonne Rogers of the Pervasive Interaction lab at the Open University.

Please submit a 1-2 page position paper addressing the theme of the workshop by May 14 to shareables-workshop@open.ac.uk. To facilitate discussion, participation will be based on accepted submissions.

Attendance is free and will be funded by Equator. Lunch and refreshments during the workshop and a workshop dinner will be provided. Financial assistance will be provided to encourage participation by PhD students.