Conceptualising mixed spaces of interaction for designing continuous interaction

Abstract

Recent progress in the overlay and registration of digital information on the user’s workspace in a spatially meaningful way has allowed mixed reality (MR) to become a more effective operational medium. However, research in software structures, design methods and design support tools for MR systems is still in its infancy. In this paper, we propose a conceptual classification of the design space to support the development of MR systems. The proposed design space (DeSMiR) is an abstract tool for systematically exploring several design alternatives at an early stage of interaction design, without being biassed towards a particular modality or technology. Once the abstract design possibilities have been identified and a concrete design decision has been taken (i.e. a specific modality has been selected), a concrete MR application can be considered in order to analyse the interaction techniques in terms of continuous interaction properties. We suggest that our design space can be applied to the design of several kinds of MR applications, especially those in which very little user focus distraction can be tolerated, and where smooth connections and interactions between real and virtual worlds is critical for the system development. An image-guided surgery system (IGS) is used as a case study.