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Improving the sketch-based interface

Forming curves from many small strokes

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Abstract

Sketch-based interfaces are becoming a useful methodology for interaction with a wide range of applications. Drawing is a natural and simple paradigm for designers. One of the problems in most of the current generation of such interfaces is that designers are forced to use single strokes where they may prefer to use many strokes while drawing with traditional tools such as a pencil.

In this work we have addressed this problem by analyzing multiple strokes and replacing them with a single stroke that makes a reasonable estimate of the designer’s intention. Our solution recursively subdivides space stopping where either there is only a single stroke, or several strokes that have a proper ordering using principal component analysis. The subspaces are then reconnected, and the orderings are joined to create the control points of a single B-spline curve. The resulting curve is very noisy due to the multitude of strokes. A multi-resolution technique that makes use of reverse subdivision has been used to fit a smooth B-spline curve.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, Canada, T2N 1N4

    Richard Pusch & Faramarz Samavati

  2. American University of Beirut, Riad El-Solh, Beirut, 1107 2020, Lebanon

    Ahmad Nasri

  3. University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, BC, V8P 5C2, Canada

    Brian Wyvill

Authors
  1. Richard Pusch
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  2. Faramarz Samavati
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  3. Ahmad Nasri
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  4. Brian Wyvill
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Correspondence to Richard Pusch.

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Pusch, R., Samavati, F., Nasri, A. et al. Improving the sketch-based interface. Visual Comput 23, 955–962 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00371-007-0160-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00371-007-0160-5

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