Design and Evaluation of 3D Positioning Techniques for Multi-touch Displays

Multi-touch displays represent a promising technology for the display and manipulation of 3D data. To fully exploit their capabilities, appropriate interaction techniques must be designed. In this paper, we explore the design of free 3D positioning techniques for multi-touch displays to exploit the additional degrees of freedom provided by this technology. We present a first interaction technique to extend the standard four viewports technique found in commercial CAD applications and a second technique designed to allow free 3D positioning with a single view of the scene. The two techniques were then evaluated in a controlled experiment. Results show no statistical difference for the positioning time but a clear preference for the Z-technique

Multi-touch 3D Exploratory Analysis of Ocean Flow Models

Modern ocean flow simulations are generating increasingly complex, multi-layer 3D ocean flow models. However, most researchers are still using traditional 2D visualizations to visualize these models one slice at a time. Properly designed 3D visualization tools can be highly effective for revealing the complex, dynamic flow patterns and structures present in these models. However, the transition from visualizing ocean flow patterns in 2D to 3D presents many challenges, including occlusion and depth ambiguity. Further complications arise from the interaction methods required to navigate, explore, and interact with these 3D datasets. We present a system that employs a combination of stereoscopic rendering, to best reveal and illustrate 3D structures and patterns, and multi-touch interaction, to allow for natural and efficient navigation and manipulation within the 3D environment. Exploratory visual analysis is facilitated through the use of a highly-interactive toolset which leverages a smart particle system. Multi-touch gestures allow users to quickly position dye emitting tools within the 3D model. Finally, we illustrate the potential applications of our system through examples of real world significance

Relative and Absolute Mappings for Rotating Remote 3D Objects on Multi-Touch Tabletops

The use of human fingers as an object selection and manipulation tool has raised significant challenges when interacting with direct-touch tabletop displays. This is particularly an issue when manipulating remote objects in 3D environments as finger presses can obscure objects at a distance that are rendered very small. Techniques to support remote manipulation either provide absolute mappings between finger presses and object transformation or rely on tools that support relative mappings t o selected objects. This paper explores techniques to manipulate remote 3D objects on direct-touch tabletops using absolute and relative mapping modes. A user study was conducted to compare absolute and relative mappings in support of a rotation task. Overall results did not show a statistically significant difference between these two mapping modes on both task completion time and the number of touches. However, the absolute mapping mode was found to be less efficient than the relative mapping mode when rotating a small object. Also participants preferred relative mapping for small objects. Four mapping techniques were then compared for perceived ease of use and learnability. Touchpad, voodoo doll and telescope techniques were found to be comparable for manipulating remote objects in a 3D scene. A flying camera technique was considered too complex and required increased effort by participants. Participants preferred an absolute mapping technique augmented to support small object manipulation, e.g. the voodoo doll technique

Pointage bi-manuel avec le CubTile dans un espace 2D de type Focus+Contexte

8 pages, articles longsNational audienceThe CubTile is a cubic-shaped device with 5 tactile multi-touch faces. It was initially designed for 3D interaction. In this article we explore its use for navigation and pointing in a 2D space. In this way, we propose a bi-manual interaction technique, based on the manipulation of two faces of the CubTile, in a focus+context interface: The non-dominant hand pans the focus with one face of the CubTile while the dominant hand points in the focus area using another face of the CubTile. The results of a first user experiment indicate that an asymmetric tuning, with a low amplification for the non-dominant hand gestures and a high amplification for the dominant hand gestures, provides better performance in a pointing task. These results are a first step towards optimal tuning of the tactile faces for asymmetric bimanual interaction.RESUME Le CubTile est un dispositif de forme cubique qui dispose de 5 faces tactiles multi-point. Conçu initialement pour l'interaction 3D, dans cet article nous explorons son usage pour la navigation et le pointage dans un espace 2D. Pour cela, nous proposons d'appliquer la division du travail bi-manuel aux faces tactiles du CubTile dans le cas d'une visualisation de l'espace d'information de type focus+contexte. La main non-dominante déplace le focus (vue détaillée au sein de l'espace) avec une face du CubTile tandis que la main dominante pointè a l'intérieur du focus en utilisant une autre face du CubTile. Les résultats d'unepremì eré etude expérimentale prospective nous permettent d'´ etablir qu'un réglage dissymétrique avec une amplification faible des gestes de la main non-dominante et plus forte des gestes de la main dominante offre les meilleurs résultats dans le cadre d'une tâche de pointage. Ces résultats sont un premier pas vers des réglages optimaux des faces tactiles pour l'interaction bi-manuelle asymétrique. MOTS CLES : Interaction tactile, interaction multi-surfaces, interaction bi-manuelle, interaction 2D/3D, visualisation Focus+Contexte. ABSTRACT The CubTile is a cubic-shaped device with 5 tactile multi-touch faces. It was initially designed for 3D interaction. In this article we explore its use for navigation and pointing in a 2D space. In this way, we propose a bi-manual interaction technique, based on the manipulation of two faces of the CubTile, in a focus+context interface: The non-dominant hand pans the focus with one face of the CubTile while the dominant hand points in the focus area using another face of the CubTile. The results of a first (a) Navigation 2D. (b) Manipulation 3D. Figure 1 : Interaction bi-manuelle avec le CubTile. user experiment indicate that an asymmetric tuning, with a low amplification for the non-dominant hand gestures and a high amplification for the dominant hand gestures, provides better performance in a pointing task. These results are a first step towards optimal tuning of the tactile faces for asymmetric bimanual interaction

Dual-finger 3D interaction techniques for mobile devices

Ankara : The Department of Computer Engineering and the Graduate School of Engineering and Science of Bilkent University, 2012.Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 2012.Includes bibliographical references leaves 61-67.Three-dimensional capabilities on mobile devices are increasing, and interactivity is becoming a key feature of these tools. It is expected that users will actively engage with the 3D content, instead of being passive consumers. Because touchscreens provide a direct means of interaction with 3D content by directly touching and manipulating 3D graphical elements, touch-based interaction is a natural and appealing style of input for 3D applications. However, developing 3D interaction techniques for handheld devices using touch-screens is not a straightforward task. One issue is that when interacting with 3D objects, users occlude the object with their fingers. Furthermore, because the user’s finger covers a large area of the screen, the smallest size of the object users can touch is limited. In this thesis, we first inspect existing 3D interaction techniques based on their performance with handheld devices. Then, we present a set of precise Dual-Finger 3D Interaction Techniques for a small display. Then, we present the results of an experimental study, where we evaluate the usability, performance, and error rate of the proposed and existing 3D interaction techniques. Finally, we integrate the proposed methods of different user modes.Telkenaroğlu, CanM.S

Generalized Trackball and 3D Touch Interaction

This thesis faces the problem of 3D interaction by means of touch and mouse input. We propose a multitouch enabled adaptation of the classical mouse based trackball interaction scheme. In addition we introduce a new interaction metaphor based on visiting the space around a virtual object remaining at a given distance. This approach allows an intuitive navigation of topologically complex shapes enabling unexperienced users to visit hard to be reached parts

Single-Touch to Multi-Touch System Conversion

Context: In recent years the education community has seen an acceleration in the adoption of multi-touch surfaces for educational purposes due to a number of features that these surfaces present. Some of these features include the facilitation of multi-user interaction and collaboration. However, an interesting problem exists with legacy, single-touch educational systems that lend themselves well to the features of multi-touch but have been developed with a single-user interface in mind. Objectives: This thesis investigates how to convert an existing single-user, single-touch system into a multi-user, multi-touch system while maintaining the existing educational aims and methods. The end result is a converted application called JLens and a list of goals for converting an educational system. Methods: This study analyses the interaction points and potential conversion factors of an existing education application and defines a set of 4 goals for converting a single-touch educational system into a multi-touch one. The final product is a converted educational system that is evaluated by representatives from the local education authorities, the educational software developers TimeMaps, multi-touch hardware developers and fellow researchers. A combination of questionnaires and observations are used for research methods and the evaluators are asked to freely explore the converted system and provide feedback. Results: The work identifies that the majority of the evaluators responded positively to the converted system. The observations show that the users understood how to operate the system very quickly and began collaborating by sharing data without any prompt. The quantitative analysis provides evidence that the conversion was successful and all of the research goals were met. Conclusion: This thesis has demonstrated that JLens provides a viable framework for converting existing single-user, single-touch systems into multi-user, multi-touch systems by allowing many users to navigate and explore educational applications in a collaborative way