Collaborative Work Systems Inc.

Engineering Human Centered Collaborative Systems for Complex Work Environments

Collaborative Work Systems Inc.

Engineering Human Centered Collaborative Systems for Complex Work Environments

PointnTalk: A Software Application for Efficient Asynchronous Communication about Shared Images

PointnTalk is a CWS developed software application that allows the user to easily create voice-overs for one or more images, optionally with synchronized pointing, and annotation marks. Once saved to an XML file (with referenced resources), the annotated images can be shared. PointnTalk versions have been created for Microsoft Windows, Android, and Web Browsers (tested with Chrome and Firefox). If a recording is about a geographic area it can also be exported as a Google Earth tour. The storage required is much less than a video file, because the static images, voice recordings, and gestures/drawings are saved separately, then re-synchronized when played. The application provides greater presence and less ambiguity in communications than other popular forms of asynchronous communication (e.g. Microsoft PowerPoint, Email, or text messaging) as users are able to process the multiple complementary communication modalities in parallel.


Example Applications

  • Training content
  • Communication of commanders intent
  • Enhanced discussion forums
  • Tailored AARs
  • Reachback for technical support
  • Usability assessment
  • Handoffs
  • Knowledge elicitation
  • Augmented Reality

System Requirements

  • Microsoft Windows (98, 2000, ME, XP, Vista, 7/8/10), Android, or Web browser (Google Chrome or Firefox)
  • JPEG images (for photographs)
  • Sound card, microphone, and speaker(s)


References

Bower, J. I. (2004) The Impact of Asynchronous Multimedia Communications on Understanding and Recall.  Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 48th Annual Meeting. New Orleans, Louisiana.

Chapman, R J. (2001) Multimodal Slide Shows as Asynchronous Presentation Reviews. In The Proceedings of ISECON 2001, v 18, Cincinnati, OH.

Faraday, P. M. & Sutcliffe, A. G. (1997). Designing effective multimedia presentations. Proceedings of CHI '97, 272-279.


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