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I think the biggest selection problem is the Minority Report UI problem: hanging hands are not precise tools, nor are they comfortable to hold up for > ~a minut

by wcarss 5y ago

I think the biggest selection problem is the Minority Report UI problem: hanging hands are not precise tools, nor are they comfortable to hold up for > ~a minute. In particular, it is very hard to do even one pixel-perfect point+grab+release in 3D space, let alone do it over and over -- in large part because you can't easily lock a dimension or the position and rest your hand. Touch-screens are hard to get precise-clicks on for a similar reason: with a mouse I can line it up and hit fire, with touch I'm firing until I let go. If someone gets the right metaphor going there, I think it could work great, but the naive solution of 1:N direct scaling the position of your hand to a co-ordinate in space isn't it. I imagine it'll be something like direct correlation to get 'in the neighbourhood' and then an easy modal toggle to a 'precision' mode, where you move something in small increments along just 1 or 2 dimensions, using a comfortable binary gesture. Or maybe AI will get really good at guessing what alignment the user wants.

checker 5y ago
As far as control interface goes, it seems almost inevitable that we'll eventually have a breakthrough/refinement for some sort of mental control without physical movement (similar to how some amputees control their advanced prosthetics). It would be a game changer for VR.
Animats 5y ago
I think the biggest selection problem is the Minority Report UI problem: hanging hands are not precise tools, nor are they comfortable to hold up for > ~a minute. Right. The Autodesk people figured that out by 1990. It's like trying to draw while wearing mittens. And they had fingered gloves as input devices. During the 1990s, there were many attempts at tactile interfaces. None of them ever caught on. My favorite was the levitated metal ball. It rested over a shallow bowl, and offered all 6 degrees of freedom, plus it could resist your movement and push back. VR is good for looking at 3D models, but not for working on them.

by wcarss 5y ago

checker 5y ago

As far as control interface goes, it seems almost inevitable that we'll eventually have a breakthrough/refinement for some sort of mental control without physical movement (similar to how some amputees control their advanced prosthetics). It would be a game changer for VR.

Animats 5y ago

I think the biggest selection problem is the Minority Report UI problem: hanging hands are not precise tools, nor are they comfortable to hold up for > ~a minute. Right. The Autodesk people figured that out by 1990. It's like trying to draw while wearing mittens. And they had fingered gloves as input devices. During the 1990s, there were many attempts at tactile interfaces. None of them ever caught on. My favorite was the levitated metal ball. It rested over a shallow bowl, and offered all 6 degrees of freedom, plus it could resist your movement and push back. VR is good for looking at 3D models, but not for working on them.