User Interface Constraints for Immersive Virtual Environments Applications

Applications of Virtual Environments (VEs) are rapidly becoming more complex and interactive. They are not restricted to tasks that are solely perceptual in nature; rather, they involve both perception and action on the part of the user. With this increased complexity comes a host of problems relating to the user interface (UI) of such systems. Researchers have produced a body of work on displays, input devices, and other hardware, but very few guidelines have been suggested for user interface software in 3D VEs. In this paper, we discuss the usage and implementation of constraints, a fundamental principle for desktop user interfaces, in highly interactive virtual environment systems. Our claims are supported with examples from the literature and from our own experience with the Conceptual Design Space (CDS) application