Softly Elastic Device for 6DOF Input

Paper in proceeding, 2008

A central component of 3D computer applications is the six degrees of freedom (6DOF) in interaction with the virtual environment. In recent years, 3D computer graphics have been widely adopted, even in traditionally 2D applications such as web browsers and window managers. Along with this development, the need for multidimensional input devices has increased and prompted the proposals of several novel input concepts and devices for different kinds of applications. In this paper we present a prototypical showcase application for the SpaceCat, a softly elastic six degrees of freedom input device, in order to demonstrate its suitability for game applications where precise short-range movements are required. The application shows how sword handling and camera control can be performed with the SpaceCat.