Browsing by Author "Lucas, John F."
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- Designing Explicit Numeric Input Interfaces for Immersive Virtual EnvironmentsChen, Jian; Bowman, Douglas A.; Wingrave, Chadwick A.; Lucas, John F. (Department of Computer Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, 2004)User interfaces involving explicit control of numeric values in immersive virtual environments have not been well studied. In the context of designing three-dimensional interaction techniques for the creation of multiple objects, called cloning, we have developed and tested a dynamic slider interface (D-Slider) and a virtual numeric keypad (VKey). Our cloning interface requires precise number input because it allows users to place objects at any location in the environment with a precision of 1/10 unit. The design of the interface focuses on feedback, constraints, and expressiveness. Comparative usability studies have shown that the newly designed user interfaces were easy to use, effective, and had a good quality of interaction. We describe a working prototype of our cloning interface, the iterative design process for D-Slider and V-Key, and lessons learned. Our interfaces can be re-used for any virtual environment interaction tasks requiring explicit numeric input.
- Immersive Virtual Environments for University Education: Views from the ClassroomBowman, Douglas A.; Gracey, Matthew; Lucas, John F.; Setareh, Mehdi; Varadarajan, Srinidhi (Department of Computer Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, 2003)Education has long been touted as an important application area for immersive virtual environments (VEs). VEs can allow students to visualize and interact with complex three-dimensional (3D) structures, perform virtual experiments,#157; view scenes with natural head and body movements, and experience environments that would be otherwise inaccessible because of distance (the surface of the Moon), scale (a complex molecule), or danger (a sunken ship). Many researchers have explored the use of VEs for education [1, 2], with some degree of success. However, few VE systems have been deployed for actual classroom use, and little is known about effective methods for employing VEs in real-world settings (the work of Johnson et al. is a notable exception [4]). In this paper, we describe three VE applications developed to teach university students concepts in the areas of computer graphics, building structures, and computer networking, and discuss our experience in using them as integral parts of appropriate classes at Virginia Tech. We differ from Johnson et al. in our focus on postsecondary education and in our use of VEs as tools within a traditional lecture-based class. We present our observations of what worked and what did not, and offer guidelines for others wishing to incorporate VEs into the classroom.
- Interfaces for Cloning in Immersive Virtual EnvironmentsChen, Jian; Bowman, Douglas A.; Lucas, John F.; Wingrave, Chadwick A. (Department of Computer Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, 2004)Three-dimensional objects in many application domains, such as architecture and construction, can be extremely complex and can consist of a large number of components. However, many of these complex objects also contain a great deal of repetition. Therefore, cloning techniques, which generate multiple spatially distributed copies of an object to form a repeated pattern, can be used to model these objects more efficiently. Such techniques are important and useful in desktop three-dimensional modeling systems, but we are not aware of any cloning techniques designed for immersive virtual environments (VEs). In this paper, we present an initial effort toward the design and development of such interfaces. We define the design space of the cloning task, and present five novel VE interfaces for cloning, then articulate the design rationale. We have also performed a usability study intended to elicit subjective responses with regard to affordance, feedback, attention, perceived usefulness, ease of use, and ease of learning in these interfaces. The study resulted in four major conclusions. First, slider widgets are better suited for discrete than for continuous numeric input. Second, the attentional requirements of the interface increase with increased degrees-of-freedom associated with widgets. Third, users prefer constrained widget movement, although more degrees-of-freedom allow more efficient parameter setting. Finally, appropriate feedback can reduce the cognitive load. The lessons we learned will influence our continuing design of cloning techniques, and these techniques will ultimately be applied to VE applications for design, construction, and prototyping.