3DUI Contest

The 9th annual IEEE 3DUI Contest invited researchers, students, enthusiasts, and professionals to develop and present 3D User Interfaces (3DUIs) for three different tasks in fully immersive Virtual Environments (VEs): 1) Ladder Climbing, 2) First-Person View Flying, and 3) Tower Stacking. New to this year’s edition of the 3DUI Contest is that participating teams compete against each other in a tournament during the conference. We selected eight teams to present their solutions during the conference as interactive demos and to participate in the tournament.

The following submissions will be presented from March 20 to March 22:

(Team VVise lab) Fluid VR: Extended Object Associations for Automatic Mode Switching in Virtual Reality

Team Members:

• Mayra Donaji Barrera Machuca, SIAT, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada.
• Junwei Sun, SIAT, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada.
• Duc-Minh Pham, SIAT, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada.
• Wolfgang Stuerzlinger, SIAT, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada

Abstract: Constrained interaction and navigation methods for virtual reality reduce the complexity of the interaction. Yet, with previously presented solutions, users need to learn new interaction tools or remember different actions for changing between different interaction methods. We propose Fluid VR, a new 3D user interface for interactive virtual environments that lets users seamlessly transition between navigation and selection. Based on the selected object’s properties, Fluid VR applies specific constraints to the interaction or navigation associated with the object. This way users have a better control of their actions, without having to change tools or activate different modes of interaction.

(Team NaN) 3DUI Contest 2018 - Team NaN

Team Members:

• Christian Hirt, Innovation Center Virtual Reality, ETH Zurich
• Anh Nguyen, Innovation Center Virtual Reality, ETH Zurich
• Markus Zank, Innovation Center Virtual Reality, ETH Zurich

Abstract: : For the contest held at IEEE VR 2018 3DUIs for three tasks have to be designed. The tasks include climbing a ladder, fly a drone in first-person perspective and stacking objects. The goal of our design is to find an easy yet intuitive solution to the given tasks. In that way, for the ladder task, a 3DUI is implemented closely mimicking a real ladder ascent or descent using only the controllers to interact with the environment. For the drone flying, we propose a solution which uses the head orientation to control the drone. The third task concluded with a no gravity, temporary storage space which is used to prepare the final stack that can be released with a trigger press.

(Team Rowan-ARL Visualization Group) 3DUI Contest 2018: 3D Interaction

Team Members:

• Bo (Beth) Sun, Rowan University
• Aleksandr Fritz, Rowan University
• Vincent Perry, US Army Research Lab
• Paul Havig, US Air Force Research Lab
• Simon Su, US Army Research Lab

Abstract: We developed novel interactions to enable user interaction with the 3D virtual environment addressing the three tasks (Ladder Climbing, First-Person View Flying, and Tower Stacking) of the 3DUI contest 2018. Using Unity3D as our development environment, we implemented and deployed our application on HTC Vive HMD system.

(Team Hyper-Naturals) Climb, Guide, Stack: Smart Interfaces for VR eSports

*Team Members:8

• Yuan Li, Center for Human Computer Interaction, Department of Computer Science, Virginia Tech
• Run Yu, Center for Human Computer Interaction, Department of Computer Science, Virginia Tech
• Lei Zhang, Center for Human Computer Interaction, Department of Computer Science, Virginia Tech
• Wallace S. Lages, Center for Human Computer Interaction, Department of Computer Science, Virginia Tech
• Doug A. Bowman, Center for Human Computer Interaction, Department of Computer Science, Virginia Tech

Abstract: We present multiple 3D interaction techniques to address the three tasks in the 2018 3DUI contest: ladder climbing, drone flying and tower stacking. The proposed techniques provide smart interfaces to aid efficiency and error prevention. We discuss the principles and rationale used in the design.

(Team Caverna Digital) Batmen Forever: unified virtual hand metaphor for consumer VR setups

Team Members:

• André Montes Rodrigues, Interdisciplinary Center in Interactive Technologies, Polytechnic School, University of São Paulo
• Mario Nagamura, Interdisciplinary Center in Interactive Technologies, Polytechnic School, University of São Paulo
• Luis Gustavo Freire da Costa, Interdisciplinary Center in Interactive Technologies, Polytechnic School, University of São Paulo
• Marcelo Knorich Zuffo, Interdisciplinary Center in Interactive Technologies, Polytechnic School, University of São Paulo

Abstract: We present a hand-based natural interaction that allows performing fundamental actions such as moving objects, climbing ladders and interfacing with virtual robots and drones. The setup was restricted to available consumer VR technology, aiming to advance towards a practical unified framework for 3D interaction. The strategy was syncing the closest natural movement allowed by the device with primary task actions, either directly or with intuitive hyper-natural UIs. The prototype allowed fast completion of the three challenges proposed by the 2018 3DUI Contest.

(Team VReizh Red) Climb, Fly, Stack: Design of Tangible and Gesture-based Interfaces for Natural and Efficient Interaction

Team Members:

• Alexandre Audinot, Univ Rennes, Inria, CNRS, IRISA
• Emeric Goga, SATT Ouest Valorisation, Univ Rennes, Inria, CNRS, IRISA
• Vicent Goupil, SATT Ouest Valorisation, Univ Rennes, Inria, CNRS, IRISA
• Carl-Johan Jorgensen, SATT Ouest Valorisation, Univ Rennes, Inria, CNRS, IRISA
• Adrien Reuzeau, Univ Rennes, Inria, CNRS, IRISA
• Ferran Argelaguet, Univ Rennes, Inria, CNRS, IRISA

Abstract: We present three novel 3D interaction metaphors conceived to fulfill the three tasks proposed in the current edition of the IEEE VR 3DUI Contest. We propose the VladdeR, a tangible interface for Virtual laddeR climbing, the FPDrone, a First Person Drone control flying interface, and the Dice Cup, a tangible interface for virtual object stacking. All three interactions take advantage of body proprioception and previous knowledge of real life interactions without the need of complex interaction mechanics: climbing a tangible ladder through arm and leg motions, control a drone like a child flies an imaginary plane by extending your arms or stacking objects as you will grab and stack dice with a dice cup.

(Team CG-UFRGS) 3DAthlon: 3D Gestural Interfaces to Support a 3-Stage Contest in VR

Team Members:

• Jerônimo G. Grandi, Institute of Informatics, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
• Henrique G. Debarba, Artanim Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland
• Juliano Franz, Institute of Informatics, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
• Victor Oliveira, Institute of Informatics, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
• Abel Ticona, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
• Gabrielle Souza, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
• Izadora Berti, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
• Steeven Villa, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
• Luciana Nedel, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
• Anderson Maciel, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazi

Abstract: In the context of the 3DUI Contest promoted by the IEEE VR 2018, we propose 3D interaction techniques that address three distinct tasks in a virtual environment setup: climbing a ladder, controlling a quadcopter in a first-person view, and building a tower by stacking a series of objects. The interaction techniques were developed so the player, our 3D-athlete, has control over the events in each task, following metaphors that facilitate the use of the interface, and having status and spatial awareness supported by clear feedback cues. Thus, the player should be able to execute the tasks with precision and agility.

(Team VReizh Blue) Toward Intuitive 3D User Interfaces for Climbing, Flying and Stacking

Team Members:

• Antonin Bernardin, Univ Rennes, Inria, CNRS, IRISA, Rennes, France
• Guillaume Cortes, Realyz, Univ Rennes, Inria, CNRS, IRISA, Rennes, France
• Rebecca Fribourg, Univ Rennes, Inria, CNRS, IRISA, Rennes, France
• Tiffany Luong, Univ Rennes, Inria, CNRS, IRISA, Rennes, France
• Florian Nouviale, Univ Rennes, Inria, CNRS, IRISA, Rennes, France
• Hakim-Si Mohammed, Univ Rennes, Inria, CNRS, IRISA, Rennes, France

Abstract: We propose 3D user interfaces (3DUI) that are adapted to specific Virtual Reality (VR) tasks: climbing a ladder using a puppet metaphor, piloting a drone thanks to a 3D virtual compass and stacking 3D objects with physics-based manipulation and time control. These metaphors have been designed to provide the user with an intuitive, playful and efficient way to perform each task.