Comparing voodoo dolls and HOMER

The Voodoo Dolls technique, which provides better feedback by allowing users to view a manipulated object both up close and at a distance, allowed users to both position and orient objects more accurately and suggested that researchers should focus on improving feedback for 3D manipulation techniques.

Abstract

When creating techniques for manipulating objects at a distance in immersive virtual environments, researchers have primarily focused on increasing selection range, placement range, and placement accuracy. This focus has led researchers to create and formally study a series of "arm-extension" techniques, which dynamically scale the user's arm to allow him to manipulate distant objects. Researchers have also developed representation-based techniques, which allow users to manipulate a distant object by manipulating a copy of it in a handheld representation. However, researchers have not yet formally established the relative value of these techniques. In this paper we present a formal study comparing Voodoo Dolls, a best-practice representation-based technique, with HOMER, a best-practice arm-extension technique. We found that the Voodoo Dolls technique, which provides better feedback by allowing users to view a manipulated object both up close and at a distance, allowed users to both position and orient objects more accurately. Our results suggest that researchers should focus on improving feedback for 3D manipulation techniques