3D human-computer interaction

Users wearing headsets and interacting in 3D

3D human-computer interaction (3D HCI) refers to methods and technologies that allow users to interact with computers in three-dimensional space. It includes augmented reality and virtual reality.

3D interaction is human-computer interaction in which the user's tasks are performed directly in a 3D spatial context.

Full-duplex 3D HCI requires a 3D input device and a 3D display. The 3D display can be autostereoscopic, lightfield, or holographic.

It can be summed up as a situation where a person can move something around in 3D, and a computer knows where it is, and the computer can move something around in 3D, and the person knows where it is.

Main areas of interest are 3D direct interaction and isomorphic interaction.

Reason

The parts of the human brain that control muscles, muscle memory, and proprioception (the sense of where the body is in space) and the visual system evolved to work together to process the world in 3D. The way computers are used hasn't changed much since the 1980s: 2D graphical user interface elements clicked on with a mouse cursor or tapped with a fingertip. This sort of control doesn't take advantage of how the human brain works.

Input devices (control peripherals)

• Isomorphic interaction, enabled through 6DOF controls.
• Motion Controllers: Devices like VR controllers that detect movement in three dimensions using positional tracking, either optical or otherwise.
• Gesture Recognition: Cameras and sensors (e.g., Microsoft Kinect, Leap Motion) that capture body movements and hand gestures.
• Haptic Feedback: Systems that provide tactile feedback to the user, enhancing the sense of touch in a virtual environment.

Displays

• 3D displays, including biscopic displays and holographic displays
• VR headsets

Interaction techniques

• Manipulation of 3D objects: Techniques for selecting, rotating, scaling, and otherwise interacting with virtual objects in a three-dimensional space.

Application areas

This is a list of uses of 3D computer interface that consists of 3D control peripherals and 3D displays.

• Molecular visualization
• CAD
• Military planning and communication
• 3D mathematical visualization software