Automatic Speed Control For Navigation in 3D Virtual Environment

As technology progresses, the scale and complexity of 3D virtual environments can also increase proportionally. This leads to multiscale virtual environments, which are environments that contain groups of objects with extremely unequal levels of scale. Ideally the user should be able to navigate such environments efficiently and robustly. Yet, most previous methods to automatically control the speed of navigation do not generalize well to environments with widely varying scales. I present an improved method to automatically control the navigation speed of the user in 3D virtual environments. The main benefit of my approach is that automatically adapts the navigation speed in multi-scale environments in a manner that enables efficient navigation with maximum freedom, while still avoiding collisions. The results of a usability tests show a significant reduction in the completion time for a multi-scale navigation task

A Prototype For Narrative-based Interactivity In Theme Parks

The purpose of this thesis is to look at the potential for interactive devices to enhance the story of future theme park attractions. The most common interactive theme park rides are about game-based interaction, competition, and scoring, rather than about story, character, and plot. Research into cognitive science, interactivity, narrative, immersion, user interface, theming and other fields of study illuminated some potentially useful guidelines for creating compelling experiences for park guests. In order to test some of these ideas, an interactive device was constructed and tested with study subjects. Each study subject watched a video recording of an existing theme park ride while using the device, and then filled out a survey concerning their experience. The results revealed how subjects view character-driven interactive devices, how a device should be blended into a ride sequence, how subjects think interactivity and responsiveness should be structured in regards to themselves and the ride, and begins to hint at their motivations for using interactive devices