GVU Technical Report Series

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GVU Technical Report Series

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Now showing 1 - 8 of 8

Toolsets for the Development of Highly Interactive and Information-Rich Virtual Environments

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 1998) Bowman, Douglas A. ; Hodges, Larry F.

This paper describes a unique set of programming toolsets which are designed specifically to aid in the authoring of immersive virtual environment (VE) applications. The first toolset provides a wide range of user interface options through a pen-based metaphor, and benefits applications which have a high degree of interactive complexity. The second toolset allows high-level control of audio annotations, and benefits applications which provide information to the user via the audio modality. The toolsets are designed to provide abstraction from the basic VE software system, to allow rapid prototyping and experimentation, and to be reusable across multiple applications. Two applications which have made extensive use of both toolsets are also presented.
A Methodology for the Evaluation of Travel Techniques for Immersive Virtual Environments

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 1998) Bowman, Douglas A. ; Koller, David ; Hodges, Larry F.

We present a framework for the analysis and evaluation of travel, or viewpoint motion control, techniques for use in immersive virtual environments (VEs). The basic construct of this framework is a taxonomy of travel techniques, and we present a summary of three experiments mapping parts of the taxonomy to various performance measures. Since these initial experiments, we have expanded the framework to allow evaluation of not only the effects of different travel techniques, but also the effects of many outside factors simultaneously. Combining this expanded framework with the measurement of multiple response variables epitomizes the philosophy of testbed evaluation. This experimental philosophy leads to a deeper understanding of the interaction and the technique(s) in question, as well as to broadly generalizable results. We also present an example experiment within this expanded framework, which evaluates the user's ability to gather information while traveling through a virtual environment. Results indicate that, of the variables tested, the complexity of the environment is by far the most important factor.
Exploratory Design of Animal Habitats Within an Immersive Virtual Environment

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 1998) Bowman, Douglas A. ; Wineman, Jean ; Hodges, Larry F.

One of the first useful applications of virtual environments (VEs) was the architectural walkthrough, in which users view buildings or other structures in a natural, interactive manner. The obvious next step is to allow the user to create or modify designs while immersed in the virtual world, but such "immersive design" systems have not generally been successful, because of a lack of constraints, the inability to perform precise input, the difficulty of performing tasks while immersed, and the fact that designers generally have not been trained to design in all three dimensions, especially in the beginning stages of a project. We present an immersive design application, aimed at university-level architecture students, which addresses these issues. Users of the system are immersed within an existing zoo habitat, and can make modifications and enhancements to the exhibit, using a set of efficient and complementary interaction techniques for navigation, object manipulation, and system control. A usability study has shown that because the students are not creating a complete design, but rather making constrained modifications to an existing one, interesting and unique designs can be achieved in a short time.
The Educational Value of an Information-Rich Virtual Environment

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 1998) Bowman, Douglas A. ; Wineman, Jean ; Hodges, Larry F.

"Information-rich" virtual environments consist not only of three-dimensional graphics and other spatial data, but also include information of an abstract or symbolic nature that is related to the space. We present evidence that an environment of this type can stimulate learning and comprehension, because it provides a tight coupling between symbolic and experiential information. In our virtual zoo exhibit, students can explore an accurate model of the gorilla habitat at Zoo Atlanta, and also access information related to the design of the exhibit. This paper discusses the rationale behind the design of the application and the interaction techniques used to obtain information. We also present the results of an evaluation, showing that students who used the virtual environment had better test scores that those who only attended a lecture on the material. We show that the virtual experience allowed students to learn information directly, and also motivated them to better learn and understand material from a traditional lecture.
The Virtual Venue: User-Computer Interaction in Information-Rich Virtual Environments

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 1996) Bowman, Douglas A. ; Hodges, Larry F. ; Bolter, Jay David

We present a virtual reality application that allows users to access embedded information within an immersive virtual environment. Due to the richness and complexity of this environment, interaction between the user and the system requires efficient and easy-to-use techniques. We present tools for user control of the system, travel through the environment, and information retrieval. A usability study and its results are also presented and discussed. The study indicates that the use of symbolic information which is tightly coupled to the virtual environment can be quite successful in enhancing the relevance of both the environment and the information. Results also indicate that the set of well-constrained interaction techniques presented here are usable and efficient for information retrieval.
Evaluation of Movement Control Techniques for Immersive Virtual Environments

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 1996) Bowman, Douglas A. ; Koller, David ; Hodges, Larry F.

We present a categorization of techniques for first-person movement or travel through immersive virtual environments, as well as a framework for evaluating the quality of different techniques for specific virtual environment tasks. We conduct three quantitative experiments within this framework: a comparison of different techniques for moving directly to a target object varying in size and distance, a comparison of different techniques for moving relative to a reference object, and a comparison of different motion techniques and their resulting sense of "disorientation" in the user. Results indicate that "pointing" techniques are often advantageous relative to "gaze-directed" steering techniques, and that motion techniques which instantly teleport users to new locations are correlated with increased user disorientation.
User Interface Constraints for Immersive Virtual Environment Applications

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 1995) Bowman, Douglas A. ; Hodges, Larry F.

Applications of Virtual Environments (VEs) are rapidly becoming more complex and interactive. They are not restricted to tasks that are solely perceptual in nature; rather, they involve both perception and action on the part of the user. With this increased complexity comes a host of problems relating to the user interface (UI) of such systems. Researchers have produced a body of work on displays, input devices, and other hardware, but very few guidelines have been suggested for user interface software in 3D VEs. In this paper, we discuss the usage and implementation of constraints, a fundamental principle for desktop user interfaces, in highly interactive virtual environment systems. Our claims are supported with examples from the literature and from our own experience with the Conceptual Design Space (CDS) application.
WiMP (Widgets, Menus, and Pointing) Design Tools for Virtual Environments

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 1994) Bowman, Douglas A. ; Hodges, Larry F.

Many early virtual environment (VE) applications were simple walkthroughs. The effect was intended to be visual, with little or no direct manipulation of the space by the user. A logical next step is the creation of interfaces and tools that allow a user to design within an immersive space. In this paper we identify issues and desired attributes for immersive design tools. We also describe a preliminary design metaphor, WiMP, that combines menus, pointing, direct manipulation, and widgets to provide a useful set of design tools.