Computer Science Technical Reports
CS at VT

An Introduction to 3D User Interface Design

Bowman, D. and Kruijff, E. and LaViola, J. and Poupyrev, I. (2001) An Introduction to 3D User Interface Design. Technical Report TR-01-24a, Computer Science, Virginia Tech.

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Abstract

3D user interface design is a critical component of any virtual environment (VE) application. In this paper, we present a broad overview of three-dimensional (3D) interaction and user interfaces. We discuss the effect of common VE hardware devices on user interaction, as well as interaction techniques for generic 3D tasks and the use of traditional two-dimensional interaction styles in 3D environments. We divide most user interaction tasks into three categories: navigation, selection/manipulation, and system control. Throughout the paper, our focus is on presenting not only the available techniques, but also practical guidelines for 3D interaction design and widely held myths. Finally, we briefly discuss two approaches to 3D interaction design, and some example applications with complex 3D interaction requirements. We also present an annotated online bibliography as a reference companion to this article.

Item Type:Departmental Technical Report
Subjects:Computer Science > Virtual Environments
ID Code:548
Deposited By:User, Eprints
Deposited On:30 May 2002