This thesis seeks to use VR and AR technologies to extend the power of our bodies to create sculptural forms in ways that are not possible in the real world. It aspires to bring the richness and spontaneity of human kinesthetic interaction in the physical world to the process of shaping digital form, and explores creative playful ways to augment gestural input with dynamics-driven simulations to generate virtual substance. The three modeling methods that constitute crux of this thesis are physically-inspired, but their underlying dynamics are not bound to the rules that govern the real world. The level of immersion is considered of critical importance in creating an interactive experience and environment that is robustly responsive to kinesthetic feedback and navigable using our spatial intuitions. Immersive technologies and bare-handed 3D interaction are used to heighten the sense of creative empowerment by blurring the boundaries between the virtual and physical. Expert interviews were conducted to assess the creative potential of this modeling approach and the effectiveness of its use of immersive technologies in enriching the creative process. A formal user study confirmed that the dynamics-driven tools are fun to play with and creatively empowering, and that spatial interaction made the modeling process more intuitive and engaging. The major contribution of this thesis is a new dynamics-driven approach for immersive freeform modeling, which presents three new types of dynamics-based interaction techniques that extend our physical reach and support new forms of expression.

Keywords: gestural augmentation, immersive 3D modeling, 3D sketching, stroke-based modeling, augmented reality, 3D user interface

M.S. thesis: Augmenting gestural strokes with dynamics-driven simulations for immersive freeform 3D modeling [pdf]

Advisors: Sung-Hee Lee, Graham Wakefield, Woontack Woo

Jang, S. A., Wakefield, G., & Lee, S. H. (2017). Incorporating Kinesthetic Creativity and Gestural Play into Immersive Modeling. In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Movement Computing, 28-30 June 2017, London, UK (p. 17). ACM. [pdf]

Dynamics-Driven Immersive Freeform Modeling