The Interactive 3D BreakAway Map: a navigation and examination aid for multi-floor 3D worlds

In this paper, we propose the Interactive 3D BreakAway Map (I3BAM), an extension of the well-known Worlds In Miniature (R. Stoakley et al., 1995). The I3BAM supports user navigation in virtual buildings as a navigation aid, but also provides a means of examining any floor of a virtual building without having to necessarily navigate it. The aid presents multiple views of a virtual building and provides information about both the internal and external structure of a building. The paper also includes some implementation details and shows an application of the I3BAM to help users learn how to navigate real buildings