A hybrid 2D/3D interaction device steering distributed hybrid applications

This paper presents a new system based on a wireless 6DOFs interaction device, which is able to combine both traditional interaction possibilities that are required by common legacy point-and-click applications, with immersive point-and-interact techniques within a virtual environment. This device, associated with both standard and stereoscopic displays connected to their respective computers, defines an innovative type of distributed platform which is directly compatible with traditional legacy applications that can be augmented with an immersive environment, enabling the user to steer and control hybrid 2D/3D environments. Those concepts are illustrated by presenting an application that we are developing in the multidisciplinary context of engineering, a typical situation in which supporting the pre-existing user's environment is mandatory for the take-up and acceptance of innovative techniques from virtual reality.