3D User Interaction (Spring Quarter)

Background

From video games to mobile augmented reality, 3D interaction is everywhere. Choosing to use 3D input or 3D displays is not by itself enough: 3D user interfaces (3D UIs) have to be designed carefully for the experience to work.

This course covers the full spectrum of emerging applications for 3D UIs and presents an array of pioneering techniques and technologies. It works through the theoretical foundations, analyses devices and techniques, sets out empirically validated design guidelines, and illustrates the key concepts with running case studies.

Classes are held in the XR Lab (CSE 3219), with lectures twice a week and a dedicated lab session on Fridays.

Goals

By the end of the quarter, students will have gained an understanding of:

• Essentials of HCI and human factors centered around 3D UIs
• How 3D UIs have evolved, and the hard problems that remain
• 3D UIs in console gaming, VR, augmented reality (AR), mobile and wearable computers, and remote collaboration
• How 3D input and output let users perceive and act much as they do in the physical world
• 3D output devices, including visual, auditory, haptic, and tactile displays
• 3D input devices, including traditional, special purpose, and direct human input
• 3D interaction techniques for common tasks such as selection, manipulation, navigation, and system control
• Strategies for designing and developing 3D UIs
• Evaluating existing 3D UIs, and previewing their future

Course Structure

The course combines team assignments with a final group project. An introductory project gets students working with XR and Unity, followed by three projects built on the material delivered in class, each completed in teams of two using the XR hardware made available for it:

• Project 0: Intro to XR and Unity
• Project 1: Selection and Manipulation
• Project 2: Travel and Wayfinding
• Project 3: Embodied Agent and AR

Projects are demonstrated both as a video submission and in person to the course staff. A midterm in Week 7 covers the material up to that point, and the quarter closes with a final group project.

Textbook

Lectures loosely follow LaViola, Kruijff, McMahan, Bowman, and Poupyrev, 3D User Interfaces: Theory and Practice (2nd Edition), Addison-Wesley Professional, 2017. The textbook is recommended rather than required, and an electronic version is available through the UC San Diego library.

Course Description

CSE 165 focuses on the design of three-dimensional user interfaces, VR devices, and interaction techniques. The course consists of lectures, student presentations, and programming assignments, and students create VR applications to learn how VR displays and 3D interactions work.

Prerequisites: CSE 167 or CSE 167R or MATH 155A.