Interacting with multimedia: 3D navigation and media collections

Abstract

Editorial processPapers were solicited via an open call for papers and a number of submissions were received from research groups active in the area of interactive multimedia. Papers were rigorously reviewed on a double-blind basis by researchers recognized in the field. Each accepted paper was reviewed multiple times by multiple reviewers and six were selected for inclusion in this special issue. Papers on interacting with multimediaThe six accepted papers fall into two broad categories, each with three papers: 3D graphics navigation and multimedia collection organization. 3D graphics navigationTrindade and Raposo's paper is titled "Improving 3D Navigation Techniques in Multiscale Environments: A Cubemap-based Approach." It presents three novel techniques for navigation in multiscale 3D virtual worlds, such as may be used in visualization of large scientific or engineering data sets. All are based on the use of the Cubemap [4] approach to provide a multiscale grid for orientation to location and scale and allows users to interact at different granularities of action. Trindade and Raposo provide automatic speed adjustment when flying in the virtual world, plus automated collision detection so that users avoid objects while flying. Finally, they automatically position the pivot point for camera rotations in order to avoid unintuitive rotation behaviors associated with pivot points outside the field of view or behind the object of interest.A second paper addressing the 3D navigation domain is "Efficient Visualisation of 3D Models on Hardware-Limited Portable Devices" by Ramos, Ripolles, and Chover. Like the previous paper, they are interested in multi-resolution graphics representations, but for this paper, the focus is on mobile devices with limited computational and memory resources. Their Multimed Tools Appl (2014) 73:935-937