Observing and adapting user behavior in navigational 3D interfaces

Abstract

In a navigation-oriented interaction paradigm, such as desktop, mixed and augmented virtual reality, recognizing the user needs is a valuable improvement, provided that the system is able to correctly anticipate the user actions. Methodologies for adapting both navigation and content allow the user to interact with a customized version of the 3D world, lessening the cognitive load needed for accomplishing tasks such as finding places and objects, and acting on virtual devices.This work discusses adaptivity of interaction in 3D environments, obtained through the coordinated use of three approaches: structured design of the interaction space, distinction between a base world layer and an interactive experience layer, and user monitoring in order to infer interaction patterns. Identification of such recurring patterns is used for anticipating users actions in approaching places and objects of each experience class. An agent based architecture is proposed, and a simple application related to consumer e-business is analyzed.