Cooperative object manipulation in immersive virtual environments

Abstract

Cooperative manipulation refers to the simultaneous manipulation of a virtual object by multiple users in an immersive virtual environment. This paper describes a framework supporting the development of collaborative manipulation techniques, and example techniques we have tested within this framework. We describe the modeling of cooperative interaction techniques, methods of combining simultaneous user actions, and the awareness tools used to provide the necessary knowledge of partner activities during the cooperative interaction process. Our framework is based on a Collaborative Metaphor concept that defines rules to combine user interaction techniques. The combination is based on the separation of degrees of freedom between two users. Finally, we present novel combinations of two interaction techniques (Simple Virtual Hand and Ray-casting).