Reviving a Tangible Interface Affording 3D Spatial Interaction

Tangible interfaces offer natural means of human computer interaction and have already been shown to simplify existing computerized applications and offer solutions for tasks that were considered to be "out of the scope" of human-computer interaction. We are currently perusing new applications for 3D geometry defining tangible interfaces. In this paper we attempt to provide the reader with introduction to the underling paradigms and research in this emerging domain. We describe in detail a tangible interface, the Segal Model, created by John Frazer and his colleagues 20 years ago. We detail our technical efforts in reviving this tangible interface and updating its communication and operating techniques. We describe our initial results of building physical 3D worlds on top of the Segal Model and then rendering them into fully active 3D worlds, using the "Half-Life"TM graphical engine.