In the third and last block within the scope of the module „Interaction Design I“ a service had to be conceived which enables two or more people to keep in touch between Earth and Mars over a period of two years. The way of establishing this interstellar connection was left open.
The aim was to create an asynchronous communication which integrates naturally into everyday life without attracting too much attention.The service is supposed to be as intuitiv as possible without being too overloaded with functionality but at the same allow file transfer.
The core idea is to transfer an analogue medium like a whiteboard or a corkboard into the digital era. A 49 inch e-ink display wich touchscreen functionality serves as the technological basis. In contrast to conventional whiteboards it is usable without a pen. The user can write with his own fingers or transfer pictures through a companion app via WLAN or bluetooth and align/scale with his fingers. A synchronization process is automatically initialized when content is added or edited. When this process has finished the user on the other side gets notipficated subtly.
The advantage of e-ink displays lie in the minor power consumption and the fact that content can be displayed in inactive state without depending on backlight. That contributes to a more natural integration into different living spaces. In case of use in dark areas a backlight is turned on automatically as known from conventional ebook readers like the Amazon Kindle.
Rendering visualizing the voidboard in living space. 
Rendering visualizing the voidboard in living space.
Companion app for filesharing.
The interface is kept simple. Initially only the canvas is visible. Through different gestures a toolbar at the upper edge of the screen … 
… and a timeline at the lower edge of the screen can be blent in.In order to ensure an intuitive usability several gestures are implemented which are already establish with regular touchscreen-based interfaces or are metaphorically derived from the conventional whiteboards.
Writing and drawing with the use of one finger.
Scaling and aligning elements with two fingers.
Dragging with three or more fingers on the x-axis shifts the canvas while automatically showing a timeline serving as an overview and for faster navigation.
Pulling with three ore more fingers on the y-axis blends in the toolbar. Within the toolbar the user can navigate through different boards and undo previous actions stepwise.
By wiping with the whole hand or the side of the hand content can be erased just like a whiteboard.