A New Direct Manipulation Technique for Immersive 3D Virtual Environments

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce a new 7-Handle manipulation technique for 3D objects in immersive virtual environments and its evaluation. The 7-Handle technique includes a set of seven points which are flexibly attached to an object. There are three different control modes for these points including configuration, manipulation and locking / unlocking modes. We have conducted an experiment to compare the efficiency of this technique with the traditional 6-DOF direct manipulation technique in terms of time, discomfort metrics and subjective estimation for precise manipulations in an immersive virtual environment in two consecutive phases: an approach phase and a refinement phase. The statistical results showed that the completion time in the approach phase of the 7-Handle technique was significantly longer than the completion time of the 6-DOF technique. Nevertheless, we found a significant interaction effect between the two factors (the manipulation technique and the object size) on the completion time of the refinement phase. In addition, even though we did not find any significant differences between the two techniques in terms of intuitiveness, ease of use and global preference in the result of subjective data, we obtained a significantly better satisfaction feedback from the subjects for the efficiency and fatigue criteria.