A virtual reality interface for space planning tasks
Manipulating and assembling elements in a 3D space is a task which interests a huge number of potential applications whether they deal with real or abstract objects. Direct manipulation techniques in traditional interactive systems use 2D devices and do not allow an easy manipulation of 3D objects. To facilitate user interaction, we have studied direct manipulation techniques in a virtual reality environment. A VR interface is naturally object-oriented and allows the definition of real-world metaphors. Operat can thus work in the virtual world in a similar way to the real world: they perceive position of objects through the depth cue of stereo view, and can grab and push them in any direction by means of a virtual hand until they reach their destination. They can put an object on top of another and line it up with other objects. We model the virtual world as a job-oriented world which is governed by a few simple rules which facilitate object positioning. In this paper, we describe the design and implementation strategies to obtain a real-time performance on a low-level workstation. (C) 1999 Academic Press.
virtual reality space planning direct manipulation techniques stereo view human-computer interaction