A Tangible Volume for Portable 3D Interaction

TL;DR

This paper introduces a portable 'tangible volume' device that enables direct 3D manipulation of virtual objects, combining tangible interaction with virtual reality in a self-contained form.

Contribution

It presents the concept of a tangible volume as a handheld display for 3D interaction, including user studies on its intuitiveness and spatial awareness effects.

Findings

Tangible volume facilitates intuitive grasping and manipulation of virtual objects.

Limited field of view impacts spatial awareness during interaction.

The concept can be extended to other interaction modalities.

Abstract

We present a new approach to achieve tangible object manipulation with a single, fully portable and self-contained device. Our solution is based on the concept of a "tangible volume". We turn a tangible object into a handheld fish-tank display. The tangible volume represents a volume of space that can be freely manipulated within a virtual scene. This volume can be positioned onto virtual objects to directly grasp them, and to manipulate them in 3D space. We investigate this concept through two user studies. The first study evaluates the intuitiveness of using a tangible volume for grasping and manipulating virtual objects. The second study evaluates the effects of the limited field of view on spatial awareness. Finally, we present a generalization of this concept to other forms of interaction through the surface of the volume.