Kruszynski, Krzysztof J.Liere, Robert vanRobert van Liere and Betty Mohler2014-01-272014-01-272008978-3-905674-06-41727-530Xhttps://doi.org/10.2312/EGVE/EGVE08/089-095In this paper we explore the usage of tangible controllers for the manipulation of 3D widgets in scientific visualization applications. Tangible controllers can be more efficient than unrestricted 6-DOF devices, since many 3D widgets impose some restrictions on how they can be manipulated. In particular for tasks that are in essence two-dimensional, such as drawing a contour on a surface, tangible controllers have advantages over 6-DOF devices. We have conducted a user study in which subjects draw a contour on a three-dimensional curved surface using a 3D contour drawing widget. We compared four different input methods for controlling the contour drawing widget and the viewpoint of the surface: using one 2D mouse for drawing and viewpoint selection, using a 6-DOF pen for drawing and a 6-DOF cube device for viewpoint selection, using a 6-DOF pen for drawing on a tangible 6-DOF cube which implements a Magic Lens style visualization technique, and using a 2D mouse for drawing and a 6-DOF cube for viewpoint selection. We show that while the mouse outperforms 6-DOF input methods, the tangible controller is superior to unrestricted 6-DOF input.Categories and Subject Descriptors (according to ACM CCS): I.3.6 [Computer Graphics]: Methodology and Techniques - Interaction Techniques H.5.2 [Information Interfaces and Presentation]: User Interfaces