Keru Wang, Pincun Liu, Ken Perlin
Conference: I3D ’25: Companion Proceedings of the ACM SIGGRAPH Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics and Games
Manipulating large virtual objects in extended reality (XR) environments poses challenges due to scale, occlusion, and interaction precision. This work presents a system design and a comparative study of two interfaces for large-object manipulation: a tangible user interface (TUI) using 3D-printed Opti-Tracked miniatures, and a 2D graphical user interface (GUI) minimap. We deployed the system at SIGGRAPH ASIA 2024 with a floor-planning scenario and collected feedback from over 100 participants. Results show that TUI enhance spatial awareness and collaboration, while GUIs support more focused layout planning with greater precision. Our findings highlight trade-offs between tangible and graphical interfaces, suggesting hybrid approaches for improved usability in large-scale XR environment arrangement tasks.