SpaceActor - Interface Prototypes for Virtual Environments

Expanding 3D technology involves several disciplines in designing 3D UI. By referring to principles of product design processes we explore new interface concepts and develop prototypes of usable and comprehensible 3D UI. SpaceActor serves as a general label for this endeavour. In this paper we present two new input devices with their corresponding control-display mappings. Both input devices are characterised by two modes of navigation. The NaviStick refers to the metaphors of driving a motorcycle and flying an aeroplane. The Kwisath is based on the metaphors of control lever (joystick) and flying lance. Both input devices allow a continuous change in navigation modes to be experienced by the user. Such a concept yields new user experiences travelling through 3D space. We describe our design based approach and report our first observations of the developed 3D UI concerning supported spatial awareness and convenience of movement. For this we carried out an exploratory test which had the purpose of gathering evidence supporting our iterative prototyping.