Development and Interaction Design of the Multiuser Shared Drawing System

Abstract

I have developed a multi-user canvas-based drawing system called "Co-draw". Through sharing a canvas, users can add drawn pictures to those that another user has drawn. The users can then receive stimuli from the picture, producing a consequent emergent experience that is expected to increase the enjoyment of drawing. However, if this environment were to be merely presented to a user in the form of a shared canvas, it would not generate any new dialog. Therefore, in order to increase the user's awareness of drawing upon the canvas, I implemented a computer-simulated artificial intelligence system. The system distinguishes the pattern of each brush stroke, then based on that pattern adds an animation or other adapted material to it, creating a designed interaction called "Animated Embellishments." By interposing this computer process, the system seeks to allow the user to not draw upon the canvas, but rather engage in dialog with the canvas. In addition, the system aims to have users draw at the same time together, or choose to add on to each other's work, mutually producing creative work that is registered by the computer, then used to create special decorative animations that provide the foundation for encouraging further dialog.