6DOF Input Is The Secret Revolution in Computing, Not VR.
This article attempts to take a look at 6DOF input and how it will revolutionize input for many mediums.
Current Landscape
6DOF input has had major improvements in the past 2 years. The HTC Vive was the first consumer product to launch that provides users with a controller that can be tracked in space with very high reliability and accuracy (submillimeter!).
Wait a second… What’s 6DOF?
“6DOF” refers to “6 Degrees of Freedom”. The 6 degrees are 1) x-axis translation 2) y-axis translation 3) z-axis translation 4) pitch rotation 5) yaw rotation 6) roll rotation. Essentially all that this means is that a controller can be tracked anywhere in volumetric space (position and rotation).
Virtual Reality
OK — Let’s start with the basics. VR hardware like the Vive, Oculus and PSVR all have controllers that offer spatial tracking. This allows you to physically interact with virtual objects.
When you give someone a VR demo for the first time you’ll see how stunned they are when they see two controllers floating in space. And then they take a leap of faith and “naturally” pick them up and use them. Holy cow! I believe this moment is far more revolutionary than having an immersive display that makes you feel present in a virtual world. This moment is an exchange that allows users to understand that their physical body is directly connected to the computer and how it reacts.
Augmented Reality
I believe AR will need 6DOF input as well. Any 1st person experience is inherently spatial. Users will need to meld virtual interactions with real-world interactions and we won’t be using a laser pointer or finger gesture to catch virtual pokemon. No. We want to grab a pokeball (real or not) and throw it. We don’t want to use a joystick to select which person we want to video chat with — we want our friend to knock at the door and for us to open that door to let them in.
The Hololens is an awesome step in the right direction, but I’m still waiting out until they have 6DOF controllers.
PC & Television Displays
We now have access to high-quality 6DOF controllers, but there have been so few examples of it being used with traditional displays (TV or PC).
I give huge kudos to Media Molecule who allow users to 3D model on a TV with spatial controllers in their upcoming title called Dreams. And it works! The artwork people can create with this tool is astounding (see videos).
Jinha Lee also created a great interface concept called SpaceTop which uses 3D input through a 2D display. At the time he built this — 6DOF controllers were no where near where they are today. But again — he shows potential benefits for using 3D input with our computers.
Students at the MIT Media Lab created a prototype developing out the original concept for the Minority Report GUI. And although Minority Report is always shown as what not to do in gestural computing — in this concept video you’ll see a lot of thoughtful interactions that transcend the hollywood fireworks of fictional UI.
I can also imagine Wacom using their existing tablets and adding spatially tracked capabilities (pretty please do this!). With this added — I can imagine a tool like Maya or Zbrush allowing users to going between their Wacom tablets traditional navigation and spatial navigation. In the “spatial mode” — users could get into hard to reach, sculpt or select areas with ease.
I could also see a social application — like FaceTime or Snapchat — that allow users to spatially reach into a friends computer to show them something, share files, or place items in someone else’s space.
Ideas here have barely scratched the surface and I’d love to see more designers showing the power of 6DOF in all sorts of mediums outside of VR/AR/MR.
Physical Objects
There’s also huge potential in 6DOF controllers for physical objects. Jaymis Loveday shows this potential by having a camera auto focus to wherever he is in the room. This could open up huge worlds of possibilities for low-budget film-makers as well as hollywood productions. If you’re a vlog’er — you no longer need to spend countless hours re-shooting takes to get the framing right. Just press record and move wherever you want.
A tool like the Shaper Origin also shows how powerful spatial tracking can be for physical objects. This tool knows where it is contextually to its cutting material and can cut with extreme accuracy even if a user is sloppy with his or her movements. When your tools know their context and spatial relevance — it can help you do things more accurately and allow for more confidence in your creativity.
Slower is Better / Power tools
The big argument I hear against 6DOF is about speed and efficiency. Having to move your arms around to do everything is slow. We use computers to convert small movements into larger and more efficient results. Without moving my hands more than an inch in any direction I was able to write this article for instance. Sounds like magic!
I would argue efficiency doesn’t always mean speed. We’ve optimized mice, keyboards, and touchscreens to the max for speed efficiency. They’re highly effective at a multitude of things. 6DOF may not necessarily need to be about speed if you can go between it, a keyboard, a touchscreen, etc. 6DOF can be about being human, about being fun, about doing things slowly, about creating things that have nooks and crannies — all the imprecisions that makes life so beautiful. Or at the very least — it can be about spatial, orientation based, tactile user interfaces.
Onward
If you’re reading this and are intrigued — I’d love to hear what you think. The way I see it right now is that the industry is an open field for the taking. 6DOF is alone in the desert with little design consideration outside of VR and Sony EyeToy-esque activities. Take whatever it is you’re interested in and spend 5 minutes imagining how you would utilize 6DOF controllers to do something new.
I hope this article opened a new path of thought for you. Next time someone says “VR is revolutionizing the future of computing” — I encourage you to say “no, spatial input is revolutionizing how we work with computers.”
