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A Lens-Based Extension of Raycasting for Accurate Selection in Dense 3D Environments

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Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2021 (INTERACT 2021)

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Abstract

In mixed environments, the selection of distant 3D objects is commonly based on raycasting. To address the limitations of raycasting for selecting small targets in dense environments, we present RayLens an extended raycasting technique. RayLens is a bimanual selection technique, which combines raycasting with a virtual 2D magnification lens that can be remotely moved in 3D space using the non-dominant hand. We experimentally compared RayLens with a standard raycasting technique as well as with RaySlider an extension of raycasting based on a target expansion mechanism whose design is akin to RayLens. RayLens is considerably more accurate and more than 1.3\(\times \) faster than raycasting for selecting small targets. Furthermore, RayLens is more than 1.6\(\times \) faster than RaySlider in dense environments. Qualitatively, RayLens is easy-to-learn and the preferred technique making it a good candidate technique for general public usage.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    With the 1:3 ratio, a 30 cm motion of the clicker allows users to move the lens from its initial position (30 cm in front of the scene) to the position of the farthest objects (90 cm from the initial position of the lens).

  2. 2.

    According to the survey [23], NASA-TLX and Raw TLX perform equally well.

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Acknowledgement

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the AP2 project ANR-15-CE23-0001.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble INP, LIG, 38000, Grenoble, France

    Carole Plasson, Yann Laurillau & Laurence Nigay

  2. Ecole Superieure d’Art et Design Grenoble-Valence, 26000, Valence, France

    Dominique Cunin

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  1. Carole Plasson
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  2. Dominique Cunin
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  3. Yann Laurillau
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  4. Laurence Nigay
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Carole Plasson , Dominique Cunin , Yann Laurillau or Laurence Nigay .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Polytechnic University of Bari, Bari, Italy

    Carmelo Ardito

  2. Computer Science Department, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy

    Rosa Lanzilotti

  3. Computer Science Department, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    Alessio Malizia

  4. Department of Computer Science, University of York, York, UK

    Helen Petrie

  5. Computer Science Department, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy

    Antonio Piccinno

  6. Computer Science Department, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy

    Giuseppe Desolda

  7. Microsoft Research, Redmond, WA, USA

    Kori Inkpen

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Plasson, C., Cunin, D., Laurillau, Y., Nigay, L. (2021). A Lens-Based Extension of Raycasting for Accurate Selection in Dense 3D Environments. In: Ardito, C., et al. Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2021. INTERACT 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12935. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85610-6_28

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