in Virtual Reality

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in Virtual Reality
An Overview
16th April 2003
Prepared by Eugene Chng
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• Presentation Index
• An Introductory Note
• Definitions?
• User-Centered Design
• Feasible VR Hardware
• Human-Computer Interaction in VR
• Areas of Research in HCI
• Conclusion
• Session for Open Discussion

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• An Introductory Note

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Introductory Note

• The machine itself makes no demands and holds out
  no promises. In order to reconquer the machine
  and subdue it to human purposes, one must first
  understand it and assimilate it. So far we have
  embraced the machine without fully understanding
  it.
• Lewis Mumford, Technics and Civilization, 1934.

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Introductory Note

• Characteristics of Virtual Reality
• Display as a window into a virtual world
• Improve image generation until the picture looks
  real
• Computer maintains world model in real time
• User directly manipulates virtual objects
• Manipulated objects move realistically
• Immersion in virtual world via head-mounted
  display
• Virtual world also sounds real, feels real...
• Ivan Sutherland

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Introductory Note

• Virtual Reality Refers to a suite of technologies
  that support intuitive, real-time human
  interaction with computerized databases.
• R.J. Stone

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• DEFINITIONS?

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Definitions

• Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is a discipline
  concerned with the design, evaluation and
  implementation of interactive computing systems
  for human use and with the study of major
  phenomena surrounding them.
• (ACM SIGCHI, 1992, p.6)

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Definitions

• During the technological explosion of the 1970s
  the notion of the User-Interface (UI) also known
  as the Man-Machine Interface (MMI), became a
  general concern to both system designers and
  researchers and is defined by T.P. Moran (1981,
  p.4) as those aspects of the system that the
  user comes in contact with.

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Definitions

• Interaction Design (ID) is The design of spaces
  for human communication and interaction.
• (Winograd, 1997)
• Interaction Design (ID) is designing interactive
  products to support people in their everyday and
  working lives.
• (Rogers, Sharp, Preece, 2002)

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• User Centred Design

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User-Centered Design

• Historical pitfalls of
• Technology for technologies sake
• Technology alone is not beneficial to societal
  needs.
• Technology WITH HCI design and research will
  provide benefits to common and specialized task
  in commercial and industrial applications.
• Technological designs must be User-Centered to
  empower human users.

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User-Centered Design

• The objective of User-Centered Design is to
  produce systems that are easy to learn and use by
  their intended users, and that are safe and
  effective in facilitating the activities that
  people want to undertake.
• Tom Moran

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User-Centered Design

• A Non-User-Centered Design is to produce systems
  that are difficult to learn, hard to use by
  intended users, and that are not safe and
  ineffective in facilitating the activities that
  people want to undertake.
• Eugene Chng

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• Feasible VR Hardware

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Feasible VR Hardware
The Ultimate Display Ivan Sutherland
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Feasible VR Hardware
Is this a good design?
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Feasible VR Hardware
Are these good display designs?
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Feasible VR Hardware
What about Interaction Devices?
Interaction Devices needs to provide haptic
feedback so that It fulfills Sutherlands feels
real Virtual environments.
FingerSleeve
Logicad Magellan Controller
Pinch Glove
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Feasible VR Hardware
Full Scale Input Devices... SARCOS
IPORT Military VR devices for Cycling through
VEs.
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Feasible VR Hardware
Full Scale Input Devices... Interaction in
the Cave Environment
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• Human-Computer Interaction
• In Virtual Reality

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HCI in Virtual Reality

• Interaction in the Virtual Environment is
  necessarily categorized into three types of
  techniques
• Travel
• Selection
• Manipulation
• Doug. A. Bowman

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HCI in Virtual Reality

• Travel or Viewpoint Motion Control is one of the
  most basic and universal interactions for virtual
  environment applications.
• Q How do you know WHERE you are?
• Q Can you recognize the scenes?
• Q How do you travel speedily to a far space?

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HCI in Virtual Reality

• Selection techniques are used to interact with
  virtual objects to achieve a task or for some
  purposes.
• Q How do you select a virtual object with a
  limited input device?
• Q How do you select an object far from your
  reach?
• Q How do you group a series of objects?
• Q How do you select a needle in a haystack?

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HCI in Virtual Reality

• Manipulation techniques comes after selection and
  includes moving, rotating, and scaling virtual
  objects.
• Q How do you effectively move an object from
  point A to B?
• Q How do you rotate and scale an object
  accurately?
• Q How do you carry out manipulation with speed
  and accuracy for a given task?

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HCI in Virtual Reality

• Direct-Manipulation principles and the
  Objects-Actions Interface Model (OAI) may be
  helpful to people who are designing and refining
  virtual environments (Continued...)
• Ben Shneiderman

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HCI in Virtual Reality

• Users should be able to select actions rapidly by
  pointing or gesturing, with incremental and
  reversible control
• Display feedback should occur immediately to
  convey the sense of causality.
• Interface objects and actions should be simple,
  so that users view and manipulate task-domain
  objects.
• Ben Shneiderman

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• Areas of Research in HCI

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Areas of Research in HCI

• HCI research is applicable in all areas related
  to task sensitive domains in virtual
  environments
• Vehicle Simulation Flight, Submersibles, etc.
• Entertainment virtual sets, virtual rides,
  gaming, etc.
• Vehicular Design Ergonomics, Styling,
  Engineering
• Architectural Design and Spatial Arrangements
• Medicine surgical training, diagnostic decision
  support
• Education Abstract and complex theories

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• Conclusion

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Conclusion

• A purposeful virtual reality environment should
  have the characteristics of reality.
• The use of virtual environments should be safe,
  efficient, and effective.
• Design of any interactive device or techniques
  should be user-centered
• Manipulation of objects should be direct and
  feedback should be immediate.

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• Session for
• Open Discussions!