Direct interaction with a 3D volumetric environment

A 3D user interface for a volume visualization system is presented. It provides direct interaction and visceral exploration of the volumetric objects employing true 3D input devices such as the 3SPACE Polhemus Isotrak and the VPL DataGlove. The user interface presents on the workstation screen a small-scale virtual 3D reality supported by a rich set of interaction paradigms. As an integral part of the environment, we developed a volume editor, edvol, for generating, manipulating, and viewing sampled and/or synthetic volumetric objects. The novelty of our research and development effort is in providing paradigms for direct interaction, with a focus on volume visualization applications.