Social and informational proxies in a fishtank

This paper describes an interactive fishtank that displays on a large screen in a shared space in our research lab. Fish represent people and informational resources. People can interact with fish by tapping on the tank or typing. Fish can be personalized or extended to reveal whatever a particular person wants to reveal about his or herself. Through this calm, pleasing interface, group awareness can be conveyed. Copyright © 2012 ACM, Inc.