SketchTab3d: A Hybrid Sketch Library using Tablets and Immersive 3D Environments

Abstract

This paper proposes a 2d sketching tool and an immersive 3d sketch library as an approach to easily create and access documents (i.e. sketches). The sketch library allows users to store, arrange and assemble their own sketches and others' in theoretically unlimited space. A user can get an idea about the general activities of all users since the sketch library is updated whenever changes are made. The system provides 2d and 3d means to access the sketch library. Whereas the 2d interfaces offers a standard dash board, the 3d environment provides unrestricted spatial access to the sketch library. Furthermore, a 2d sketching interfaces is provided in order to create sketch-based documents. Possible application areas are in the fields of engineering, design, public displays, shared knowledge applications, and art. The system was evaluated among eight participants regarding its pragmatic and hedonic qualities as well as searching performance. The results suggest that the users appreciate the particular combination of 2d and 3d technologies in SketchTab3d and requested for improvement in the 3d interaction technique. No significant differences were found in the search performance, however the physical demand during searching was perceived significantly higher in the 3d condition than in the 2d condition.