Browsing through 3D representations of unstructured picture collections: an empirical study.

Olivier Christmann (1) , Noëlle Carbonell (1)

1 MERLIN - Methods for interactive software ergonomics

The paper presents a 3D interactive representation of fairly large picture collections which facilitates browsing through unstructured sets of icons or pictures. Implementation of this representation implies choosing between two visualization strategies: users may either manipulate the view (OV) or be immersed in it (IV). The paper first presents this representation, then describes an empirical study (17 participants) aimed at assessing the utility and usability of each view. Subjective judgements in questionnaires and debriefings were varied: 7 participants preferred the IV view, 4 the OV one, and 6 could not choose between the two. Visual acuity and visual exploration strategies seem to have exerted a greater influence on participants' preferences than task performance or feeling of immersion.

Mots clés: Information browsers; Graphical user interfaces; Ergonomics; Interaction techniques; Design; Experimentation; Human Factors; 3D visualization; Immersive virtual reality; Manipulation of 3D objects; Picture browsing; Photograph viewers; Usability studies

Domaines: Interface homme-machine [cs.HC]

Olivier Christmann, Noëlle Carbonell. Browsing through 3D representations of unstructured picture collections: an empirical study.. ACM Working Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces (AVI 2006), May 2006, Venezia, Italy. pp. 445-448. ⟨hal-00168118⟩