Freehand interaction with large-scale 3D map data

Abstract

In this paper, we present our method and apparatus to visualize and interact with large-scale 3D map data on a 3D light-field display in real time. 3D map data are streamed over Internet to the display in real-time based on request sent by the application. On the user side, data is processed and visualized on a large-scale 3D light field display. We present a method to efficiently interact with the visualized 3D map using freehand gestures. We use a Leap Motion sensor that supports sufficient refresh rate for our current application and is able to accurately track and acquire information on the user hand position. This information is further processed to support natural and fast interaction. We have also developed a method to automatically adjust the map's plane to the screen plane of the display. The visualization and interaction method is scalable and allows the exploration of large-scale 3D maps down to the street level.