Pedro Goulart Badelucci E Almeida
Research Mentor(s): Janet Johnson
Mentor Department: U-M School of Information
Authors:
Session: Session 3 (11:00am – 11:50am)
Presentation Type: Poster 66
Abstract
This research centers on the development of an AI-powered smart whiteboard within DISCO, a Mixed Reality (MR) platform designed to support real-time, strategic collaboration among teams. At the heart of the system is a dynamic whiteboard that goes beyond simple note-taking — it allows users to draw, annotate, and interact with content directly in 3D space. A built-in meeting rewind dial lets users backtrack to earlier moments in the session, making it easy to revisit key discussions or decisions. The whiteboard acts as a shared, persistent surface where both human users and Generative AI (GenAI) agents can contribute, helping guide conversations and support collective memory throughout a meeting. The multiuser environment is built using Photon, which provides the real-time networking infrastructure to support seamless, low-latency interaction across multiple devices. A built-in role manager assigns different permissions to users — for instance, researchers can create and manage meeting rooms, while participants are directed to pre-assigned sessions. This helps streamline the setup process and enables structured collaboration across different types of users. Together, these components create a flexible MR workspace that blends human interaction and AI support in meaningful ways. Challenges addressed include designing intuitive interfaces and maintaining consistent synchronization between users. Ultimately, this project lays the groundwork for future collaboration tools that combine spatial computing and intelligent systems to support smarter, more interactive teamwork
