Advantages of velocity-based scaling for distant 3D manipulation

Abstract

Immersive virtual environments (VEs) have the potential to offer rich three-dimensional interaction to users. In many instances, however, 3D interaction tasks are difficult due to both the imprecision of tracking devices and the inability of users to achieve and maintain precise hand positions in 3D space. One way to improve upon existing interaction techniques is to dynamically change the sensitivity of the interaction technique based on user input. Previous research has applied this principle to virtual hand-based manipulation techniques; when the user slows down the movement of her physical hand, the virtual hand slows down even more to allow precise manipulation. In this study we extend the prior research by applying the velocity-based scaling principle to HOMER, an existing at-a-distance manipulation technique based on ray-casting. The scaled HOMER technique offers the user the freedom to accomplish both long- and short-distance manipulation tasks with higher levels of precision without compromising speed. We present results from a user study that shows that the addition of scaling to HOMER significantly improves user performance on 3D manipulation tasks.