Design issues when using commodity gaming devices for virtual object manipulation

Abstract

3D interaction has made a big splash in the gaming community with the Nintendo Wii, Sony Move and Microsoft Kinect; however, most of the interaction is based on natural imprecise motions. By using the wealth of 3D interaction research, we can use these low cost commercial systems to bring not only richer interaction to gaming but also commodity trackers to Virtual Reality research. One of the first steps in understanding how these devices can be used is to determine their limitations and strengths compared to traditional 3D tracking systems. Based on this motivation we chose to implement three well-known interaction techniques---ray casting, HOMER and World-In-Miniature---using the Kinect, Move and Intersense IS-900 (a high-end 3D tracking system). We outline the design challenges of developing for each system. Based on these design issues, we expect to see users having similar results when using the Move and IS-900 systems while having a slight decrease in performance using the Kinect. If our assertions are correct, we will look at how we can design new interactions with these systems that allow for precise and accurate selection and manipulation.