DualCAD: Integrating Augmented Reality with a Desktop GUI and Smartphone Interaction

Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs) combined with 3-or-more Degree-of-Freedom (DoF) input enable rapid manipulation of stereoscopic 3D content. However, such input is typically performed with hands in midair and therefore lacks precision and stability. Also, recent consumer-grade HMDs suffer from limited angular resolution and/or limited field-of-view as compared to a desktop monitor. We present the DualCAD system that implements two solutions to these problems. First, the user may freely switch at runtime between an augmented reality HMD mode, and a traditional desktop mode with precise 2D mouse input and an external desktop monitor. Second, while in the augmented reality HMD mode, the user holds a smartphone in their non-dominant hand that is tracked with 6 DoF, allowing it to be used as a complementary high-resolution display as well as an alternative input device for stylus or multitouch input. Two novel bimanual interaction techniques that leverage the properties of the smartphone are presented. We also report initial user feedback.