3D User Interfaces Theory and Practice

The Complete, Up-To-Date Guide to Building Great 3D User Interfaces for Any Application

3D interaction is suddenly everywhere. But simply using 3D input or displays isn’t enough: 3D interfaces must be carefully designed for optimal user experience. 3D User Interfaces: Theory and Practice, Second Edition is today’s most comprehensive primary reference to building state-of-the-art 3D user interfaces and interactions. Five pioneering researchers and practitioners cover the full spectrum of emerging applications, techniques, and best practices. The authors combine theoretical foundations, analysis of leading devices, and empirically validated design guidelines. This edition adds two new chapters on human factors and general human-computer interaction—indispensable foundational knowledge for building any 3D user interface. It also demonstrates advanced concepts at work through two running case studies: a first-person VR game and a mobile augmented reality application.

Coverage Includes

• 3D user interfaces: evolution, elements, and roadmaps
• Key applications: virtual and augmented reality (VR, AR), mobile/wearable devices
• What 3D UI designers should know about human sensory systems and cognition ergonomics
• How proven human-computer interaction techniques apply to 3D UIs
• 3D UI output hardware for visual, auditory, and haptic/ tactile systems
• Obtaining 3D position, orientation, and motion data for users in physical space
• 3D object selection and manipulation
• Navigation and wayfinding techniques for moving through virtual and physical spaces
• Changing application state with system control techniques, issuing commands, and enabling other forms of user input
• Strategies for choosing, developing, and evaluating 3D user interfaces
• Utilizing 2D, “magic,” “natural,” multimodal, and two-handed interaction
• The future of 3D user interfaces: open research problems and emerging technologies

Joseph J. LaViola Jr. is the Charles N. Millican Faculty Fellow and Associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and directs the Interactive Systems and User Experience Research Cluster of Excellence at the University of Central Florida. He is the director of the modeling and simulation graduate program and is also an adjunct associate research professor in the Computer Science Department at Brown University. His primary research interests include pen-based interactive computing, 3D spatial interfaces, human-robot interaction, multimodal interaction, and user interface evaluation. His work has appeared in journals such as ACM TOCHI, IEEE PAMI, Presence, and IEEE Computer Graphics & Applications, and he has presented research at conferences including ACM CHI, ACM IUI, IEEE Virtual Reality, and ACM SIGGRAPH.  Joseph received a Sc.M. in Computer Science in 2000, a Sc.M. in Applied Mathematics in 2001, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science in 2005 from Brown University.

Ernst Kruijff is a senior researcher at the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of applied sciences, where he heads the 3DMi group. The group focuses on the human-factors driven design of multisensory 3D user interfaces. Previously, Ernst worked at Graz University of Technology and Fraunhofer IMK, where he coordinated several large German and European research projects in the field of virtual and augmented reality. He received his PhD (with honours) from Graz University of Technology, and an M.A. from Utrecht University, Netherlands. His work has been presented at conferences such as IEEE VR and ISMAR, ACM SIGGRAPH, CHI and VRST.

Ryan P. McMahan is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science and of Arts and Technology at UT Dallas. He directs the Future Immersive Virtual Environments (FIVE) Lab. His research focuses on using immersive VR technologies to promote learning and to provide training solutions that are better than real-world exercises. His other research interests include portable immersive technologies, multimodal sensory displays, natural 3D interaction techniques, and principles of human-computer interaction. He has several publications on his VR research, including articles in the Communications of the ACM and IEEE Computer. Prior to joining UT Dallas, he was the Interim Director of the Duke Immersive Virtual Environment (DiVE) at Duke University. He received is Ph.D. in Computer Science from Virginia Tech in December 2011. He also received his B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science from Virginia Tech in 2004 and 2007.

Doug A. Bowman is Professor of Computer Science at Virginia Tech, where he directs the 3D Interaction Research Group and the Center for Human-Computer Interaction. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from Georgia Tech. His research interests include 3D user interfaces, 3D interaction techniques for virtual reality, the effects of fidelity in VR systems, and large high-resolution displays. He was awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER grant for his work on domain specific 3D user interfaces. He has published more than 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals and conferences, and was named a Distinguished Scientist by the ACM in 2010.

Ivan Poupyrev is a Technical Program Lead working on advanced interaction research in the Advanced Technology and Products (ATAP) division at Google. He formerly worked at Disney Research Labs in Pittsburgh and the Sony Computer Science Labs in Japan. He spent two years at the Human Interface Technology Laboratory at the University of Washington as a Visiting Scientist designing and investigating 3D user interfaces. His current research interests are in designing and investigating advanced interfaces between humans and machines, including 3D interfaces, augmented reality interfaces, ubiquitous and wearable interfaces. Results of his work have been presented at conferences such as UIST, CHI, SIGGRAPH, EUROGRAPHICS, VRAIS and others. He received a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Hiroshima University, Japan and an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science from Moscow Airspace University, Soviet Union.

Part I: Background and Introduction
1. Introduction to 3D Interaction
2. 3D User Interfaces: History and Roadmap

 

Part II: HCI and Human Factors Basics
3. General Principles of Human-Computer Interaction
4. Human Factors Fundamentals

 

Part III: 3D Interaction Technology
5. 3D Output Devices
6. 3D Input Devices

 

Part IV: Interaction Techniques for Common 3D Tasks
7. Selection and Manipulation
8. Navigation
9. System Control

 

Part V: Designing and Developing 3D User Interfaces
10. Strategies for Designing and Developing 3D User Interfaces
11. Evaluation of 3D User Interfaces

 

Part V: The Future of 3D User Interfaces
12. The Future of 3D Interfaces