A survey and taxonomy of 3D menu techniques

Abstract

A huge variety of interaction techniques was developed in the field of virtual and augmented reality. Whereas techniques for object selection, manipulation, travel, and wayfinding were covered in existing taxonomies quite in detail, application control techniques were not sufficiently deliberated yet. However, they are needed by almost every mixed reality application, e.g. for choosing from alternative objects or options. For this purpose a great variety of distinct three-dimensional menu selection techniques is available. This paper surveys existing 3D menus from the corpus of literature and classifies them according to various criteria. The taxonomy introduced here assists developers of interactive 3D applications to better evaluate their options when choosing and implementing a 3D menu technique. Since the taxonomy spans the design space for 3D menu solutions, it also aids researchers in identifying opportunities to improve or create novel virtual menu techniques.