Cubic-Mouse-based interaction in virtual environments

Recently prop-based interfaces in combination with two-handed interaction techniques have become increasingly popular. Passive real-world props augment interaction through tactile feedback and often lead to more intuitive interaction. The Cubic Mouse is a new, 3D input device based on the prop idea. It consists of a cube-shaped box with three perpendicular rods passing through its center. We use a six-degrees-of-freedom (6-DOF) tracker embedded in the Cubic Mouse to track the device´s position and orientation. The rods can be pushed and pulled, allowing the constrained input of three degrees of freedom. The 6-DOF Cubic Mouse, also allows rotation of the rods, which adds another three DOF. Altogether, we have a total of 12 analog degrees of freedom available with the Cubic Mouse, six DOF through the tracking and another six through the rods. In addition, the Cubic Mouse has application-programmable control buttons. We present a variety of interaction techniques developed around the Cubic Mouse, which we have implemented in various application prototypes. Our geo-scientific visualization system allows the exploration of data from the oil and gas industry in local and distributed virtual environments. With our automotive partners, we´re developing a system for steering and visualizing crash simulations. Other application areas include medical visualization and terrain visualization