3D The New User Interface

1
3D - The New User Interface

• Asbjorn Rune Ousland
• Telenor RD
• Kjeller - Norway

2
Overview

• 3D use in telecom services
• Technology, standards and market
• Why 3D interfaces
• 3D conferencing
• Implication for network traffic
• 3D challenges

3
3D in Telecom Services

• User interface to services
• a natural environment for selecting content
• replacing menu hierarchies, lists and web pages
• 3D as meta-media for multimedia services
• Conferencing application
• multimedia conferencing in a 3D environment
• avatars and 3D objects

4
Technology, Standards and Market

• 3D graphics cards are now available for consumer
  PCs
• OpenGL - the standard for 3D visualisation
• VRML 2.0 - the standard file format
• Growing market for 3D games
• Hype is over, a more realistic market

5
Why 3D Interfaces?

• We live in a 3D world
• New metaphors
• world, room, environment
• more advanced and rich interfaces possible
• Natural user interaction with real objects
• Better and easier navigation
• More entertaining interfaces, greater user
  satisfaction

6
3D Conferencing

• Interaction in a world of avatars and objects
• Perspective and position of each user and object
  is recognised by all users
• Changes to the world and objects in the world is
  easy
• The formation of groups and sub-groups is
  possible
• Co-operation is facilitated by users taking
  different perspectives

7
3D Conferencing World
8
Network Traffic - the DOVRE Case

• Client server based
• The 3D world content resides on eachclient
• Navigation creates little traffic as just
  positions are updated
• Sound (and video) requires a certain bandwidth
• Introduction of new content often requires high
  capacity
• Broadcast to clients requires bandwidth depending
  on compression techniques

9
Network Traffic in DOVRE
Server
Server updates A/V, content or position on
clients
IP network
Clients
Content added Client sends new content to server
Avatar moves Client sends new position to server
Audio (and video) Client sends A/V to server
10
Challenges to 3D User Interface Design

• Need more knowledge about when and how to use it
• 3D vs 2D
• Need to know more about user behaviour in 3D
• 3D worlds is more expensive and complicated to
  build
• Requires skilled programming
• Integrating 2D in 3D environments complicated
• Better design and development tools needed
• Moving in 3D is complicated with 6DOF

11
Conclusions

• 3D is promising and opens for new and exciting
  interfaces
• 3D will not replace 2D
• 3D conferencing applications will create network
  traffic with certain characteristics
• Design and implementation of 3D is not straight
  forward