The Globefish is a novel desktop input device for three-dimensional object manipulation and viewpoint navigation. It consists of an elastically suspended 3D trackball, which provides a natural mapping for position-controlled 3D rotations. Rate-controlled 3D translations are performed by pushing the trackball into the appropriate direction. The device is manipulated by the fingertips allowing for precise interaction with virtual objects. The Globefish was designed for 3D graphics applications such as computer aided design (CAD), digital content creation (DCC) and 3D games.

We introduce two new six degree of freedom desktop input devices based on the key concept of combining forceless isotonic rotational input with force-requiring elastic translational input. The GlobeFish consists of a custom three degrees of freedom trackball which is elastically connected to a frame. The trackball is accessible from the top and bottom and can be moved slightly in all spatial directions by using force. The GlobeMouse device works in a similar way. Here the trackball is placed on top of a movable base, which requires to change the grip on the device to switch between rotating the trackball and moving the base.Our devices are manipulated with the fingertips allowing precise interaction with virtual objects. The elastic translation allows uniform input for all three axes and the isotonic trackball provides a natural mapping for rotations. Our user study revealed that the new devices perform significantly better in a docking task in comparison to the SpaceMouse, an integrated six degrees of freedom controller. Subjective data confirmed these results.

We present our experiences of combining wave field synthesis audio with a projection-based multi-viewer stereo display. Wave field synthesis is able to simulate spatial sound sources of various kinds without the need for headphones or user tracking. Multi-viewer systems support multiple tracked users with individual perspectively correct stereoscopic images. The combination of both approaches allows the consistent display of virtual objects and spatial audio sources for multiple participants. First impressions with two application scenarios confirm that sound sources can be quite well located in space by each user. The system allows the creation of sound sources attached to virtual objects, which can be moved around in real-time without perceivable latency. In addition users appreciated the possibility of natural communication while they were exploring the audio-visual scenarios.