A virtual environment for modeling 3D objects through spatial interaction

While the demand for 3D technologies is growing rapidly, there are some fundamental problems remaining unresolved, such as a way to intuitively create 3D object data in a virtual environment. This paper proposes a new method for creating 3D objects using bi-manual gestures. To realize an easy-to-use yet powerful modeling capability, we designed a framework defining a dozen primitive hand actions to be used for modeling tasks. Then a 3D modeler was developed to substantiate the framework in a virtual environment, allowing the users to create complex shapes by combining the defined hand actions. We prove that the hand actions described in the framework are essential, and are generally applicable for various modeling tasks, by exemplifying some interesting and practical shapes.