Kinesthetically Augmented Mid-Air Sketching of Multi-Planar 3D Curve-Soups

Abstract

We present haptics-enabled mid-air interactions for sketching collections of three-dimensional planar curves — 3D curve-soups — as a means for 3D design conceptualization. Haptics-based mid-air interactions have been extensively studied for modeling of surfaces and solids. The same is not true for modeling curves; there is little work that explores spatiality, tangibility, and kinesthetics for curve modeling, as seen from the perspective of 3D sketching for conceptualization. We study pen-based mid air interactions for free-form curve input from the perspective of manual labor, controllability, and kinesthetic feedback. For this, we implemented a simple haptics-enabled workflow for users to draw and compose collections of planar curves on a force-enabled virtual canvas. We introduce a novel force-feedback metaphor for curve drawing, and investigate three novel rotation techniques within our workflow for both controlled and free-form sketching tasks.