Using Spatially Aware Tangible Displays for Exploring Virtual Spaces

Abstract

To solve the challenge of exploring large information spaces on interactive surfaces such as tabletops, we introduce SpaceLens , a spatially aware handheld display that provides intuitive and elegant three-dimensional exploration of rich data sets. This can either be volumetric data, a layered information space or a zoomable information space, which are mapped to the virtual exploration volume above a stationary surface. By moving the lens through the volume, corresponding data is displayed, thus serving as a window into virtuality. Various interaction techniques are introduced, which especially utilize the Z-axis (lens height) in a novel way, e.g. for zooming or displaying various information layers. The SpaceLens implementation uses an optically tracked, passive, top-projected paper lens, which is cheap, lightweight and flexible and allows an almost “magical” interaction, as early user feedback revealed. In addition, a marker-tracked, active UMPC lens allows data exploration without a contextual display.