Walk through any office, and what do you hear: "It’s too hot." "It’s too cold." It’s too dark." "It’s too noisy."

Out to reinvent the office environment are IBM and workspace specialist Steelcase with the introduction of BlueSpace: an integrated physical workspace supported by advanced computer, senor, display and wireless technologies.

After studying the ways people work through user observation and focus groups, the two companies identified a number of unmet needs of today’s knowledge workers. These included the need

• To eliminate distractions through user control of the physical environment,
• To improve knowledge sharing and collaborative work through the ability to constantly display information, and
• To increase speed and access to information.

The BlueSpace office environment addresses these unmet needs and in turn promises to enhance productivity, increase collaboration among employees and improve space utilization.

So sit back and envision yourself in a BlueSpace office environment.

With the touch of the BlueScreen, a touch screen adjacent to the computer monitor, you can use the icons to adjust the temperature, airflow or lighting to suit your preference. For example, direct the heat to warm-up your cold hands or feet.

With the Monitor Rail, you can move anywhere in the room and your work surface is at your fingertips. The Monitor Rail consists of a work surface that travels the length of the workspace and a dual monitor arm that almost rotates to a complete circle.

Everywhere Display projects information onto any surface from the wall to the floor. Wireless computer-processed sensing technologies enable touch sensitivity, allowing your fingers to act as a cursor, even on walls or desktops.

Want privacy? Let Threshold alert colleagues that you need peace and quiet. Threshold is a patent-pending movable work surface, ceiling and walls act as a technology totem that provides on-demand visual alerts and privacy. Color-coded lighting at the top of the threshold in blue, red and green alerts colleagues that you are away, busy or accepting a visitor.

BlueSpace is now being tested by selected companies from multi-nationals to small businesses.