Abstract: As dissimilar as virtual environment interfaces are to traditional desktop interfaces, one common element will always be the need for selection. Menus are often used for this type of interaction to minimize memorization requirements. However, the direct analogy of 2-D menus to 3-D applications has not been widely accepted due to complications concerning pointing tasks in virtual space. In this paper, we report results of the use of a new technique for menu display and interaction which involves the display of menu items on a 2-D overlay onto the 3-D world. The proposed technique displays the textual menu items on a viewplane that moves relative to the user so that text will always directly face the eyes. The menu items are selected via a speech recognition system. Advantages of this technique include ease of readability and trivial interaction with the menu. The hands are always free to be used for other tasks. A number of usability issues are discussed. These findings show that this metaphor is an effective technique for not only menus in virtual spaces but for many uses of text in the 3-D domain. !13
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