Surveys show that efforts and efficiency of geographically distributed design teams can be improved by an enhancement of the informal communication between product development teams. We developed a tool called Tug Together, that allows distributed rope pulling between such teams using a remote connection. Different modes of operation enable tugging against each other, together to reach a common goal, or even alone versus a virtual opponent. Tug Together is a force feedback-system that uses the internet for data exchange. First testing revealed a high potential of Tug Together for enhancing the exchange of informal information to support the evolution of a distributed team. Further tests will examine the effects of Tug Together on the social interaction of the observed people not only in design teams but also in other environments, such as so called Media Spaces.     «

Surveys show that efforts and efficiency of geographically distributed design teams can be improved by an enhancement of the informal communication between product development teams. We developed a tool called Tug Together, that allows distributed rope pulling between such teams using a remote connection. Different modes of operation enable tugging against each other, together to reach a common goal, or even alone versus a virtual opponent. Tug Together is a force feedback-system that uses the i...     »