TerraGuide
Matthew Oskamp, Christophe Bortolaso, Robin Harrap, T.C. Nicholas Graham · 2015
Terrain visibility analysis is a challenging task that is currently supported by complex digital tools with cumbersome interfaces. In this paper, we present TerraGuide, a novel multi-surface environment for exploratory terrain analysis. TerraGuide provides three tightly coupled displays including a real-time viewshed, a 3D panoramic view, and a helicopter view controlled by an optically tracked tablet. A user study compared these techniques and identified users' strategies in solving a complex terrain analysis problem. Users overwhelmingly adopted a bi-manual use of the tabletop viewshed and tablet-based helicopter techniques. This paper gives insight into how multi-surface environments can be designed to allow complementary use of and fluid switching between techniques.