Integration of 3D Data and Text: The Effects of Text Positioning, Connectivity, and Visual Hints on Comprehension

Abstract

Abstract. 3D computer graphic models hold much promise as illustrations that can be interactively explored. These 3D illustrations often need to be linked to labels, annotations and sometimes more lengthy textual explanations. Achieving effective integration of the 3D illustration and its textual information is a difficult task and has resulted in a variety of proposed approaches. However, the comparative effectiveness of these approaches has not been studied. To address this issue, we have conducted a study in which we have compared methods of associating text with its 3D model: attaching the text directly to the object, placing the text in the object's shadow, using symbols to make the correlation between the object and the text, and using a line to make the visual connection from the text to the object with and without additional hints in the shadow. During the first part we were interested in whether a graphical method can clarify the correlation between a part of the 3D model and its associated text. The second part focused on whether the text remains comprehensible during a scene exploration. Based on our results, we suggest design implications for developing interactive 3D illustrations.

A dual-mode user interface for accessing 3D content on the world wide web

“…Furthermore, in this mode hypertextual data relating to an environment is embedded into that environment. The design of this, what we call "takeme-to-the-Wonderland" mode, was inspired by the work on IRVEs [5] and the work on annotating 3D illustrations [32]. In the following we will describe the components of the 3D mode of our interface: the viewing window, where the 3D content appears, hypertextual annotations, a dashboard designed to manage navigation, and a mini-map.…”

“…Another closely related work was carried out by a group of researchers under the direction of Thomas Strothotte [13,14,15] on labeling and annotating 3D interactive illustrations. In a study that strongly affected our design, Sonnet et al compared methods of associating text with its 3D model [32]; they evaluated the effects of text positioning, connectivity, and visual hints on comprehension under three conditions: (a) annotations are attached to objects using translucent shapes; (b) annotations are located within the objects' shadows; (c) area showing the 3D model and text area are separated. The authors suggest that setting a works well for short labels, while for extensive texts, setting c seems to be applicable because a user can explore a scene without any occlusions from the text.…”

“…The design of what we call 3D "takeme-to-the-Wonderland" mode was inspired by the work on IRVEs [5] and the work on annotating 3D illustrations [32].…”

The dream and the cross: Bringing 3D content in a digital edition

“…The lack of standards delayed a rich use of 3D content, but its integration with textual information have been thoroughly studied in all its aspects, including not only navigation, but also the disposition and readability of the text [13], [14], and the usability of interaction paradigms [15], [16].…”

Integrating Text with Video and 3D Graphics

“…In [28], Sonnet et al conducted a study in which they have compared methods of associating text with its 3D model; they evaluated the effects of text positioning, connectivity, and visual hints on comprehension under three different conditions: (a) annotations are directly attached to scene objects using translucent polygonal shapes; (b) annotations are located within the objects' shadows in the scene; (c) area showing the 3D model and text area are separated. The authors suggest that technique in setting a works well for short labels, while for extensive texts, setting c seems to be applicable because a user can explore a scene without any occlusions from the text.…”