3D Navigation Focus Sphere for Intuitive Scene Orientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing 3D navigation systems are difficult for both novice and experienced users to operate effectively, as they lack intuitive tools and feedback mechanisms that accommodate varying user skills and navigation needs.
Innovation Solution
A navigation system that includes a set of graphical user interface (GUI) navigation wheels and corresponding miniature or pie menu versions, allowing users to perform operations like panning, zooming, and orbiting with intuitive tools and feedback mechanisms, such as a focus sphere for orientation and relative position, and error recovery through rewind history.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional 3D navigation systems are used, then basic navigation functions are provided, but the system is difficult for both novice and experienced users to operate effectively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a focus sphere that provides continuous visual feedback about the current focus point location and orientation in the 3D scene. The sphere displays orientation indicators and relative position information, allowing users to understand their navigation context without complex interfaces. This feedback mechanism makes navigation intuitive for users of all skill levels while maintaining full 3D navigation capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The focus sphere acts as an intermediary visual element between the user and the complex 3D scene. Instead of directly manipulating complex 3D coordinates or camera parameters, users interact with the simplified focus sphere representation that mediates navigation operations. This intermediary provides a familiar, intuitive interface while managing the underlying complexity of 3D scene navigation.
2Ease of operation
If a focus point system is implemented to help users, then navigation becomes more intuitive, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The focus sphere serves multiple functions simultaneously: it indicates the current focus point location, displays orientation information through visual indicators, shows relative position in the scene, and serves as the target for navigation operations. By consolidating these multiple functions into a single visual element, the system provides intuitive navigation assistance without proportionally increasing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The focus sphere employs color changes and visual indicators to convey different pieces of information about orientation and position. This use of visual properties allows the sphere to communicate complex navigation state information intuitively without requiring additional interface elements or complex controls.
3Reliability
If visual feedback mechanisms are added to prevent errors, then user confidence increases, but the interface becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The focus sphere provides continuous visual feedback about navigation state, focus point location, and orientation. This feedback allows users to anticipate navigation outcomes and understand their current position in the 3D scene, preventing errors before they occur. The feedback is integrated into the navigation element itself rather than added as separate interface components.
Solution Approach 2:
The focus sphere is established before navigation operations begin, pre-defining the reference point and orientation indicators. This preliminary setup provides users with immediate visual context and prevents navigation errors by establishing clear reference frames before users attempt navigation operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A navigation system for navigating a three-dimensional (3D) scene that includes a model or object with which a user can interact. The system accommodates and helps both novice and advanced users. To do this, the system provides allows a user to place a point on a model surface that is used as a focus point for tool operations. The focus point is a geometry sphere that shows orientation and relative position of the view in the scene.