We present the 3D Tractus: a simple and inexpensive system for interaction and exploration of three-dimensional (3D)

Abstract. We present our ongoing design of Snakey, a tangible user interface (TUI) dedicated to the field of reservoir geosciences and engineering. Our design of Snakey emphasizes intuitive manipulation and interaction with 3D curves, common to underground well path exploration and planning. Snakey is not designed to replace the traditional CAD reservoir well path planning tools, but rather to augment them with tangible and collaborative interaction, facilitating spatial exploration during the multi-stage planning processes involved in well path design. Our short paper presents design goals and prototyping solutions relating to Snakey's physicality, sensing technology, input/output mapping, and multi-modal feedback, as well as our findings from a preliminary evaluation of the latest Snakey prototype in a design critique session by experienced reservoir engineers.

We describe a new method for controlling a group of robots in three-dimensional (3D) space using a tangible user interface called the 3D Tractus. Our interface maps the task space into an interactive 3D space, allowing a single user to intuitively monitor and control a group of robots. We present the use of the interface in controlling a group of virtual software bots and a physical Sony AIBO robot dog in a simulated Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) environment involving a bomb hidden inside of a building. We also describe a comparative user study we performed where participants were asked to use both the 3D physical interface and a traditional 2D graphical user interface in order to try and demonstrate the benefits and drawbacks of each approach for HRI tasks.

We present Social Comics, a casual video game that allows players to act in short comic strips that they create. We designed Social Comics to be a fast paced game that engages the audience and players equally, in an effort to adapt it for parties and social gatherings. We motivate Social Comics with a design framework for video games that combines three gameplay elements: sociability, physicality, and authoring. We believe that the combination of these three gameplay elements in video games will allow collocated players to enjoy game experiences that are socially rich, inclusive and creatively empowering. Our paper describes the design and implementation of Social Comics as well as the results of a user study evaluating the game. Computer games, social interaction design, emotive and fun interfaces, group interaction, user-generated game content.

In this paper we present a novel mixed reality tracking system for collaborative tabletop applications that uses decorative markers and embedded application markers to create a continuous and seamless tracking space for mobile devices. Users can view and interact with mixed reality datasets on their mobile device, such as a tablet or smartphone, from distances both far and very near to the tabletop. We implement the tracking system in the context of a collaborative reservoir engineering tool that brings together many experts who need a private workspace to interact with unique datasets, which is supported by our system.