The design and evaluation of 3D positioning techniques for multi-touch displays

Multi-touch displays represent a promising technology for the display and manipulation of 3D data. To fully exploit their capabilities, appropriate interaction techniques must be designed. In this paper, we explore the design of free 3D positioning techniques for multi-touch displays to exploit the additional degrees of freedom provided by this technology. Our contribution is two-fold: first we present an interaction technique to extend the standard four view-ports technique found in commercial CAD applications, and second we introduce a technique designed to allow free 3D positioning with a single view of the scene. The two techniques were evaluated in a preliminary experiment. The first results incline us to conclude that the two techniques are equivalent in term of performance showing that the Z-technique provides a real alternative to the statu quo viewport technique.