Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 7
Displays and Interaction for Virtual Travel
Anthony Steed and Doug A. Bowman
Abstract
Virtual travel can be accomplished in many ways. In this chapter we review
displays and interaction devices that can be utilized for virtual travel techniques. The
types of display range from desktop to fully immersive and the types of interaction
devices range from hand-held devices through to motion tracking systems. We give
examples of different classes of device that are commonly used, as well as some
more novel devices. We then give a general overview of travel tasks and explain how
they can be realized through interaction devices.
7.1 Introduction
Being able to move the viewpoint in a virtual environment (VE) is a critical facility:
small movements allow the user to get new perceptual cues to understand 3D space;
larger movements allow the user to access different parts of the VE so that the user
can experience them at a closer range, or access them if they were previously not
accessible. Thus, when we consider VE systems, we can identify that travel has a
range of purposes, which might require a range of different devices and interaction
techniques. If one were building a training operator for a user of a control console,
the user might be seated, and would only need to move her head to see different
parts of the console, or look in different directions. If one were building a training
simulator for fire evacuation, it would be important to be able to simulate movement
through the large-scale environment.
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Department of Computer Science, University College London,
Gower St, London WC1E 6BT, UK
e-mail: A.steed@ucl.ac.uk
D. A. Bowman
Center for Human Computer Interaction, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, USA
A. Steed
