Although over the last few decades, the future paperless office has been predicted and promised by many people, it still remains a myth. Most people still prefer to review their documents in printed form. In most work environments people archive both the real and digital version of their documents. But unlike the digital world, in the physical world locating a document can become a time consuming task. The problem is often related to the fact that there is no direct connection between the physical and digital representation of documents, even when there is an exact copy of the physical document on the computer.

The Aroo system provides a combination of virtual and physical interface to an augmented filing cabinet system. It links the virtual and physical document storage and retrieval capabilities of the traditional filing cabinets and folders to that of a computer system. Folders and cabinets are extended with devices for direct input and output. Furthermore, an interactive table and digital pens enable a seamless interaction with virtual as well as physical documents.

With all those extensions the work with both virtual and physical document management systems improves significantly. Although a formal user-study needs to be conducted the informal results seem promising.

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