Sensors and transponders in the environment will tell the portable computers where a user is located and what is nearby. These means of interacting with the system may utilize any or all of the five senses, especially sight via some type of display, sound via some type of speaker, and touch via haptic feedback. These means of interacting with the system could be a handheld keyboard, a microphone, speech recognition, vibrators, eye tracking, gesture recognition, three dimensional sound, and other means available for effective task accomplishment. At the high end is mediated and augmented reality, however, a person may find a Palm size computer is the most appropriate tool for certain tasks. Mediated and Augmented Reality -Using a computer to alter the experience one has via the five senses, but without removing the person completely from reality, is augmented reality.
Augmented reality is the continuum from reality to virtual reality.
In its early iterations, WorldBoard may utilize flat screen displays on handheld devices, however, later versions will incorporate eyewear and other devices to immerse the user in the virtual. Channels provide the ability to group WorldBoard content, to filter information, and to transform Web objects. They provide data and interactions that are relevant to a particular audience or a particular task. Channels are arbitrary collections of Web objects from one or more WorldBoard-enabled Web servers. Example channels might be ones based on age, gender, interests, profession, task, disability, etc.