An Introduction to 3D User Interface Design

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

Levels of control during a collaborative carrying task

Three experiments investigated the effect of implementing low-level aspects of motor control for a collaborative carrying task within a VE interface, leaving participants free to devote their cognitive resources to the higher-level components of the task. In the task, participants collaborated with an autonomous virtual human in an immersive virtual environment (VE) to carry an object along a predefined path. In experiment 1, participants took up to three times longer to perform the task with a conventional VE interface, in which they had to explicitly coordinate their hand and body movements, than with an interface that controlled the low-level tasks of grasping and holding onto the virtual object. Experiments 2 and 3 extended the study to include the task of carrying an object along a path that contained obstacles to movement. By allowing participants' virtual arms to stretch slightly, the interface software was able to take over some aspects of obstacle avoidance (another low-level task), and this led to further significant reductions in the time that participants took to perform the carrying task. Improvements in performance also occurred when participants used a tethered viewpoint to control their movements because they could see their immediate surroundings in the VEs. This latter finding demonstrates the superiority of a tethered view perspective to a conventional, human'seye perspective for this type of task

Ambient Gestures

We present Ambient Gestures, a novel gesture-based system designed to support ubiquitous ‘in the environment’ interactions with everyday computing technology. Hand gestures and audio feedback allow users to control computer applications without reliance on a graphical user interface, and without having to switch from the context of a non-computer task to the context of the computer. The Ambient Gestures system is composed of a vision recognition software application, a set of gestures to be processed by a scripting application and a navigation and selection application that is controlled by the gestures. This system allows us to explore gestures as the primary means of interaction within a multimodal, multimedia environment. In this paper we describe the Ambient Gestures system, define the gestures and the interactions that can be achieved in this environment and present a formative study of the system. We conclude with a discussion of our findings and future applications of Ambient Gestures in ubiquitous computing

Motion planning and assembly for microassembly workstation

In general, mechatronics systems have no standard operating system that could be used for planning and control when these complex devices are running. The goal of this paper is to formulate a work platform that can be used as a method for obtaining precision in the manipulation of micro-entities using micro-scale manipulation tools for microsystem applications. This paper provide groundwork for motion planning and assembly of the Micro-Assembly Workstation (MAW) manipulation system. To demonstrate the feasibility of the idea, the paper implements some of the motion planning algorithms; it investigates the performance of the conventional Euclidean distance algorithm (EDA), artificial potential fields’ algorithm, and A* algorithm when implemented on a virtual space

European White Book on Real-Time Power Hardware in the Loop Testing : DERlab Report No. R- 005.0

The European White Book on Real-Time-Powerhardware-in-the-Loop testing is intended to serve as a reference document on the future of testing of electrical power equipment, with specifi c focus on the emerging hardware-in-the-loop activities and application thereof within testing facilities and procedures. It will provide an outlook of how this powerful tool can be utilised to support the development, testing and validation of specifi cally DER equipment. It aims to report on international experience gained thus far and provides case studies on developments and specifi c technical issues, such as the hardware/software interface. This white book compliments the already existing series of DERlab European white books, covering topics such as grid-inverters and grid-connected storag

Implementing flexible rules of interaction for object manipulation in cluttered virtual environments

Object manipulation in cluttered virtual environments (VEs) brings additional challenges to the design of interaction algorithms, when compared with open virtual spaces. As the complexity of the algorithms increases so does the flexibility with which users can interact, but this is at the expense of much greater difficulties in implementation for developers. Three rules that increase the realism and flexibility of interaction are outlined: collision response, order of control, and physical compatibility. The implementation of each is described, highlighting the substantial increase in algorithm complexity that arises. Data are reported from an experiment in which participants manipulated a bulky virtual object through parts of a virtual building (the piano movers’ problem). These data illustrate the benefits to users that accrue from implementing flexible rules of interaction