Abstract
For the last twenty years, human-computer interfaces have been dominated by two-dimensional interaction techniques. Things are changing. Techniques that were previously restricted to specialized CAD/CAM tools and immersive VR systems are now being extended to the mass market. The photo-realistic facilities offered by QuicktimeVR and the model based renderings of VRML (Virtual Reality Mark-up Language) provide sophisticated tools for interface design. As a result, three dimensional visualization techniques are being widely exploited in the financial services industry, airports and even off-shore oil production. In January 1997, there were some 2,000 VRML models on the web. By January 1998, this number had grown to over 20,000. Research in human-computer interaction has, however, lagged behind these developments. Few guidelines can be applied to support the design of desktopVR. This paper, therefore, describes three criteria that can be applied to assess the usability of these interfaces. We then go on to validate these criteria against a number of case studies. Unfortunately, it is concluded that standard measures of task performance, successful navigation and subjective satisfaction cannot easily be applied to assess the utility of 3D systems.
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© 1998 Springer-Verlag London
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Johnson, C. (1998). On the Problems of Validating DesktopVR. In: Johnson, H., Nigay, L., Roast, C. (eds) People and Computers XIII. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3605-7_21
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3605-7_21
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