Hyve-3D is designed to aid the first steps of 3D creation inside virtual environments via embodied interaction and collaborative (co- localized and remote) 3D sketching without necessitating complex GUI. Hyve-3D introduces a semi-spherical immersive 3D sketching environment based on spherical panoramas and uses 2D drawing planes that are intuitively manipulated in 3D space by the help of handheld tablets that are tracked in 6DOF. Orthogonal sketches created by the user on the tablet are used to build the 3D scene based on the position of the drawing planes.
The system is composed of a MacBook Pro laptop, a WUXGA projector, a 5m diameter half-hemispherical fabric screen, a 16-inch dome mirror, a wireless router, a 6DOF tracking system (Razer Hydra) with two controllers, and two Apple iPad mini tablets. The location, orientation and size of the drawing area are manipulated via 3D tablet movements and multitouch gestures using any of the following modes that define axial freedoms and restraints: in free tracking drawing planes follow the tablets in 6DOF; in normal panning drawing planes ignore the rotation but follow the position of the tablets, allowing work on parallel planes; in planar panning movements of the tablet are restricted to the current plane; in pinch zooming the size of the drawing plane is changed via a pinch ges- ture. The tablets can also be used as 3D track-pads to navigate and orbit around the scene with sliding and multitouch rotating motions based on the orientation of the tablet.
The embodied user interaction model proposed using the handheld tablets to create, view and manipulate 3D content can be also used not only in immersive environments but also on conventional 2D displays and projections. A commercial version is developed.
Reflexive Analysis
It is imperative to gain a fundamental understanding of the technology we will be using throughout this process, and equally important to know the specs of the system. Tomas Dorta spells out the nitty gritty details in his publication of a 2014 design conference, using a series of Apple products for UI/UX, a 6DOF tracking system, and of course a projector projecting onto a half-hemispherical screen. The Hyve-3D aims to be an immersive and collaborative system that grants real-time sketching feedback in a 3D space. The applications of the technology are vast, including more interactive instruction of classes, to-scale representative AR that can be manipulated intuitively and effortlessly, and practical and convenience use for designers and architects. The Hyve-3D is a powerful tool that will grant users a new way to collaborate, create, and express new ideas in a more accessible way.
Dorta, Tomas & Kinayoglu, Gokce & Hoffmann, Michael. (2014). Hyve-3D: A New Embodied Interface for Immersive Collaborative 3D Sketching. 10.1145/2619195.2656325.
