In one of the last projects in Lancaster, I worked on a novel class of interaction technique for VR with Diako Mardanbegi et al. Many applications in VR need users to change a mode of a 3D object, e.g., to change the color of a virtual furniture. This project showed a seamless way to do so: simply align the color (from a menu held in the hand or fixed at head), with the object.
This technique combines several prior concepts for a unique interaction technique: the infamous see-through interface of Bier et al. from SIGGRAPH in 1993, the dwell-time eye selection technique, and handheld menus. For example, to control a virtual (or real in AR) light, you can simply use your eyes and head movement.
While looking at the light, slightly move your head to change the brightness.
Two ways to select & apply a color to an object.
What can you do with this? It’s simple. Whether an object is near or far away, you can apply your favorite mode to the object as effortless as a glance. Simply look at the object, and move the correct transparent mode in your line of sight.
The paper explored these concepts, and demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed concept in a user study. The study also showed that our technique outperforms the two step selection in terms of speed and comfort. We further developed a prototype of a virtual living room to demonstrate the practicality of the proposed technique. See more here:
Ken Pfeuffer 