Towards a General Model for Selection in Virtual Environments

Abstract

Selection is one of the fundamental building blocks of all interactive virtual environment systems. Selection is the ability of the user to specify which object, or sub-part of an object in the environment, is the target for subsequent actions. Examples include selecting 3D buttons thus invoking an action or selecting a target upon which an action will occur. Selection is also an implicit or explicit part of manipulation techniques.In a virtual environment selection can be performed in many different ways. In this paper we develop a generalized model of how interaction is and could be performed in virtual environments using 3D gestures. The purpose of this model is to highlight some potential areas for development and evaluation of novel selection techniques. The model is based on an analysis of the complexity of selection. We develop a model for selection that is based on time-varying scalar fields (TVSFs) that encompasses a very broad range of existing techniques. This model will be abstract, in that a direct implementation will be prohibitively complex, but we show how some standard implementation strategies are good approximations to the formal model.

Exploring the Effects of Environment Density and Target Visibility on Object Selection in 3D Virtual Environments

“…An interesting extension to spotlight selection is Shadow Cone Selection [24], which selects targets by sweeping out an area with a cone selection cursor. Other metrics have also been proposed [25], but it is unclear how well they will work in dense target environments, as they have not been formally evaluated.…”

Disambiguation Canvas: A Precise Selection Technique for Virtual Environments

“…Grossman and Balakrishnan have implemented and evaluated the smart raytechnique first proposed by Steed [3] -on a volumetric display [10]. All objects intersected by the ray accumulate scores; to disambiguate, the user moves the origin and direction of the ray so that it always intersects the intended object.…”

“…It is the ability of the user to specify objects in the virtual environment for subsequent actions [3]. The literature is rich in immediate selection techniques; however, this class of technique is exposed to problems of accuracy, ambiguity and complexity [4].…”

Optimal 3D selection technique assignment using real-time contextual analysis

“…Fitts' Law is the underlying principle of how difficult selection is when the target is static, and is used extensively to judge various selection techniques [11]. Some have even gone so far as to attempt to computationally define what a selection technique should be [13].…”