Spatial Selection Techniques for 3D Point Cloud Data in Virtual Reality

We propose three novel spatial data selection techniques for particle data in VR visualization environments. They are designed to be target- and context-aware and be suitable for a wide range of data features and complex scenarios. Each technique is designed to be adjusted to particular selection intents: the selection of consecutive dense regions, the selection of filament-like structures, and the selection of clusters—with all of them facilitating post-selection threshold adjustment. These techniques allow users to precisely select those regions of space for further exploration—with simple and approximate 3D pointing, brushing, or drawing input—using flexible point- or path-based input and without being limited by 3D occlusions, non-homogeneous feature density, or complex data shapes. These new techniques are evaluated in a controlled experiment and compared with the Baseline method, a region-based 3D painting selection. Our results indicate that our techniques are effective in handling a wide range of scenarios and allow users to select data based on their comprehension of crucial features. Furthermore, we analyze the attributes, requirements, and strategies of our spatial selection methods and compare them with existing state-of-the-art selection methods to handle diverse data features and situations. Based on this analysis we provide guidelines for choosing the most suitable 3D spatial selection techniques based on the interaction environment, the given data characteristics, or the need for interactive post-selection threshold adjustment.

本研究提出三项针对虚拟现实可视化环境中粒子数据的新型空间数据选择技术。这些技术旨在实现目标导向与情境感知，并适用于广泛的数据特征及复杂场景。每一项技术均被设计为适应特定的选择意图：连续密集区域的选取、丝状结构的选取以及簇的选取，且均能促进后续选择阈值的调整。这些技术使用户能够精确地选择空间中的特定区域进行进一步探索，通过简单且近似的3D指向、刷选或绘制输入，利用灵活的点或路径输入，且不受3D遮挡、非均匀特征密度或复杂数据形状的限制。在控制实验中评估了这些新技术，并与基于区域的3D绘画选择基线方法进行了比较。我们的结果表明，这些技术在处理各种场景方面效果显著，并允许用户根据对关键特征的认知来选择数据。此外，我们分析了空间选择技术的属性、需求和策略，并将其与现有的最先进选择方法进行比较，以应对多样化的数据特征和情况。基于此分析，我们提供了根据交互环境、给定数据特征或交互后选择阈值调整需求来选择最合适的3D空间选择技术的指导方针。