Interaction Design for 3D User Interfaces ─ The World of Modern Input Devices for Research, Applications, and Game Development

A natural user interface (NUI) refers to an interface that is effectively invisible or becomes invisible with successive learned interactions. Current and next generation development of computer games, mobile devices, and desktop applications feature 3D interaction. This book deals with NUI design for the input hardware such as multi-touch, Kinect, wiiMote, and others, with the output as a regular display producing 3D graphics. The key attraction of this book is the hands-on approach and the affordability of the hardware used. Using C++ and Open GL to code the examples, this book can be used by beginners from Chapter 1 to the end or by experienced developers who require some of the more advanced chapters in their work. The word "natural" refers to the user experience—that the interaction comes naturally, while interacting with the technology. 3D NUIs are found in computer-aided design, radiation therapy, surgical simulation, data visualization, and virtual-reality entertainment.

Francisco R. Ortega, PhD, is a postdoctorate research fellow at Florida International University, Miami, where he received his PhD in computer science. He is the current director of the Open Human-Interface Device Laboratory at Florida International University (http://openhid.com). He was a member of the Digital Signal Processing Laboratory at FIU, and has over 17 years of experience in software development and systems integration. His interests are in 3D user interfaces, input devices, human–computer interaction, 3D navigation, and input modeling, among other interests. He has multiple publications in journals, lecture notes, and conference proceedings.

Fatemeh Abyarjoo, PhD, received her PhD in Electrical engineering from Florida International University, Miami, where she was also a research assistant in the Digital Signal Processing Laboratory, focusing on sensor fusion for human motion tracking. She is currently a Fraud Risk Data Scientist, focusing on financial data analyzing. Her research interests are data mining, data analysis, statistical modeling, sensor fusion and wearable devices. She is a former Open Science Data Cloud PIRE National Science Foundation Fellow.

Armando Barreto, PhD, is a faculty member of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Florida International University, Miami, as well as the director of FIU’s Digital Signal Processing Laboratory. He earned his PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Florida, Gainesville. His work has focused on applying DSP techniques to the facilitation of human–computer interactions, particularly for the benefit of individuals with disabilities. He has developed human–computer interfaces based on the processing of signals and has developed a system that adds spatialized sounds to the icons in a computer interface to facilitate access by individuals with "low vision." He is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Association for Computing Machinery.

Naphtali Rishe, PhD, is Eminent Chair Professor of Computer Science at Florida International University, Miami. He has authored three books on database design and geography and has edited five books on database management and high performance computing. He holds four US patents on database querying, semantic database performance, Internet data extraction, and computer medicine. He has also authored 300 papers in journals and proceedings on databases, software engineering, Geographic Information Systems, Internet, and life sciences. His TerraFly project—a 50-terabyte database of aerial imagery and Web-based GIS—has been extensively covered by worldwide press.

Malek Adjouadi, PhD, is a professor with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Florida International University, Miami. He received his PhD from the Electrical Engineering Department at The University of Florida, Gainesville. He is the founding director of the Center for Advanced Technology and Education funded by the National Science Foundation. His earlier work on computer vision to help persons with blindness led to his testimony to the US Senate on the committee of Veterans Affairs on the subject of technology to help persons with disabilities. His research interests are in image and signal processing with applications in neuroscience and assistive technology research.