Content area
Abstract
Gesturing from one human to another appears to span all cultural boundaries; one could possibly call it a universal means of communication. Group work studies have shown that gesturing makes up over 35% of all interactions. Participants use hand gestures to enact ideas, to focus the attention of the group, to signal turn-taking, and to reference objects on the work surface. Analysis is presented of gesturing as applied to users of group support systems. Some practical issues are addressed, such as: 1. At what level of interaction might gesturing be supported? 2. How large and what shape should gesture pointers be? 3. How should they move? 4. What are network and processor throughput requirements? 5. What are group size effects? The results show that while full motion computer gesturing can be supported on PC-LAN systems for small groups, gesturing for medium and large groups requires the use of special techniques such as regulating transmission rates, motion smoothing, and point and quiver cursors.