Week 13 Summaries
Moving Objects in Space: Exploiting Proprioception In Virtual-Environment Interaction:
This paper looks into the challenge of manipulation of objects in virtual environments. The main hinderance in this space is the lack of haptic contact with real objects. The authors of the paper propose using proprioception as a way to help users deal with the lack of haptic contact in virtual environments. There are three ways the paper suggests that a user can use his body to interact with objects in the virtual environment: direct manipulation, physical mnemonics, and gestural actions. Automatic scaling is used to bring objects that are far away in the virtual environment close enough to the user so that they can use techniques corresponding to proprioception. As with any interactions or interfaces with virtual environments much has to do with the design and we will not see very usable systems until a “killer” design is come up with.
OmniTouch: Wearable Multitouch Interaction Everywhere:
This paper presents a prototype device from Microsoft, OmniTouch, that allows users to use body parts and everyday surfaces as input devices. The OmniTouch is a shoulder worn device consisting of depth cameras and a small projector that can project interfaces on to physical objects. The OmniTouch uses hand tracking for input and can tell whether a user is hovering or pressing down on the projected interface. Obviously something like this would be impractical for everyday users unless it can be condensed and put into a form factor like google glass. However, something like this could be useful now for workers that are not at a computer but could benefit from begin able to input data into a system without having to pull out a portable device.
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