UniCam—2D gestural camera controls for 3D environments
Robert C. Zeleznik, Andrew Forsberg · 1999
We present a novel approach to controlling a virtual 3D camera with a 2D mouse or stylus input device that is based on gestural interaction.Our approach to 3D camera manipulation, UniCam, requires only a single-button stylus or mouse to directly invoke specific camera operations within a single 3D view.No 2D widgets or keyboard modifiers are necessary.By gesturally invoking all camera functionality, UniCam reduces the modal nature of typical desktop 3D graphics applications, since remaining mouse or stylus buttons can be used for other application functionality.In addition, the particular choice and refinement of UniCam controls efficiently enables a wide range of camera manipulation tasks, including translation in three-dimensions, orbiting about a point, animated focusing on an object surface, animated navigation around an object, zooming in upon a region, and saving and restoring viewpoints.UniCam's efficiency derives primarily from improved transitions between techniques and to a lesser degree from adaptations of existing techniques.Although we have conducted no formal user evaluations, UniCam is the result of years of iterative development with approximately one hundred users.During this time more conventional modifier key and menu-based implementations were implemented and either refined or rejected.Informally, users appear to require a few hours of training to become proficient with UniCam controls, but then typically choose them almost exclusively even when widget-based controls, such as those provided by an Inventor viewer, are simultaneously available.