We present 3DTouch, a novel 3D wearable input device worn on the fingertip for 3D manipulation tasks. 3DTouch is designed to fill the missing gap of a 3D input device that is self-contained, mobile, and universally working across various 3D platforms. This paper presents a low-cost solution to designing and implementing such a device. Our approach relies on relative positioning technique using an optical laser sensor and a 9-DOF inertial measurement unit. 3DTouch is self-contained, and designed to universally work on various 3D platforms. The device employs touch input for the benefits of passive haptic feedback, and movement stability. On the other hand, with touch interaction, 3DTouch is conceptually less fatiguing to use over many hours than 3D spatial input devices. We propose a set of 3D interaction techniques including selection, translation, and rotation using 3DTouch. An evaluation also demonstrates the device's tracking accuracy of 1.10 mm and 2.33 degrees for subtle touch interaction in 3D space. Modular solutions like 3DTouch opens up a whole new design space for interaction techniques to further develop on.
@cite_5: Foreword. Preface. I. FOUNDATIONS OF 3D USER INTERFACES . 1. Introduction to 3D User Interfaces. What Are 3D User Interfaces? Why 3D User Interfaces? Terminology. Application Areas. Conclusion. 2. 3D User Interfaces: History and Roadmap. History of 3D UIs. Roadmap to 3D UIs. Scope of This Book. Conclusion. II. Hardware Technologies for 3D User Interfaces. 3. 3D User Interface Output Hardware. Introduction. Visual Displays. Auditory Displays. Haptic Displays. Design Guidelines: Choosing Output Devices for 3D User Interfaces. Conclusion. 4. 3D User Interface Input Hardware. Introduction. Desktop Input Devices. Tracking Devices. 3D Mice. Special-Purpose Input Devices. Direct Human Input. Home-Brewed Input Devices. Choosing Input Devices for 3D Interfaces. III. 3D INTERACTION TECHNIQUES. 5. Selection and Manipulation. Introduction. 3D Manipulation Tasks. Manipulation Techniques and Input Devices. Interaction Techniques for 3D Manipulation. Design Guidelines. 6. Travel. Introduction. 3D Travel Tasks. Travel Techniques. Design Guidelines. 7. Wayfinding. Introduction. Theoretical Foundations. User-Centered Wayfinding Support. Environment-Centered Wayfinding Support. Evaluating Wayfinding Aids. Design Guidelines. Conclusion. 8. System Control. Introduction. Classification. Graphical Menus. Voice Commands. Gestural Commands. Tools. Multimodal System Control Techniques. Design Guidelines. Case Study: Mixing System Control Methods. 8.10. Conclusion. 9. Symbolic Input. Introduction. Symbolic Input Tasks. Symbolic Input Techniques. Design Guidelines. Beyond Text and Number Entry. IV. DESIGNING AND DEVELOPING 3D USER INTERFACES. 10. Strategies for Designing and Developing 3D User Interfaces. Introduction. Designing for Humans. Inventing 3D User Interfaces. Design Guidelines. 11. Evaluation of 3D User Interfaces. Introduction. Background. Evaluation Metrics for 3D Interfaces. Distinctive Characteristics of 3D Interface Evaluation. Classification of 3D Evaluation Methods. Two Multimethod Approaches. Guidelines for 3D Interface Evaluation. V. THE FUTURE OF 3D USER INTERFACES. 12. Beyond Virtual: 3D User Interfaces for the Real World. Introduction. AR Interfaces as 3D Data Browsers. 3D Augmented Reality Interfaces. Augmented Surfaces and Tangible Interfaces. Tangible AR Interfaces. Agents in AR. Transitional AR-VR Interfaces. Conclusion. 13. The Future of 3D User Interfaces. Questions about 3D UI Technology. Questions about 3D Interaction Techniques. Questions about 3D UI Design and Development. Questions about 3D UI Evaluation. Million-Dollar Questions. Appendix A: Quick Reference Guide to 3D User Interface Mathematics. Scalars. Vectors. Points. Matrices. Quaternions. Bibliography. Index.
@cite_15: Presents a novel class of virtual reality input devices that combine pop-through buttons with 6-DOF trackers. Compared to similar devices that use conventional buttons, pop-through devices double the number of potential discrete interaction modes, since each button has two activation states corresponding to light and firm pressure. This additional state per button provides a foundation to address a range of shortcomings with conventional virtual environment (VE) input devices that includes reducing the physical dexterity required to perform interactions, reducing the cognitive complexity of some compound tasks and enabling the design of less obtrusive devices without sacrificing expressive power. Specifically, we present two novel input devices: the FingerSleeve was designed to be minimally obtrusive physically, whereas the TriggerGun was designed to be physically similar to, yet more functional than a conventional hand-held trigger device. Further, we present a set of novel navigation and interaction techniques that leverage the capabilities of our pop-through button devices to improve interaction quality and provide insight into harnessing the potential of pop-through buttons for other tasks. Finally, we discuss how we incorporated one of our devices into a real application.
Early work in instrumenting the human finger was conducted in the 3DUI research community. Ring Mouse @cite_5 is a small, ring-like device, with two buttons, worn along the index finger. It uses ultrasonic tracking, but generates only position information. With a similar design to that of Ring Mouse, FingerSleeve uses a 6-DOF magnetic tracker to report position and orientation @cite_15 . The drawback of these devices is that they are not self-contained, relying on an external tracking system.