CAPTIVE is an inexpensive controller for manipulating virtual objects at twice the speed of existing technologies. Source: North Carolina State University Manipulating virtual objects in a computer program in three dimensions just got much easier.

Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed an inexpensive, interactive cube that allows users to manipulate objects with six degrees of freedom with less lag time than existing technologies.

The device, called CAPTIVE, can be used for applications ranging from video gaming to medical diagnostics to design tools, researchers say. CAPTIVE makes use of a simple cube, a webcam found in most smartphones and laptops and custom software.

The plastic cube, which resembles a child’s Tinkertoy, has different colored balls in each corner and was made using a 3-D printer. By manipulating the cube, users can capture images on a webcam. Video recognition software tracks the movement of the cube in three dimensions by tracking how each of the colored balls move in relation to each other.

“The primary advantage of CAPTIVE is that it is efficient,” said Zeyuan Chen, a Ph.D. student in NC State's Department of Computer Science. “There are a number of tools on the market that can be used to manipulate 3-D virtual objects, but CAPTIVE allows users to perform these tasks much more quickly.”

Testing the cube, researchers found CAPTIVE was able to rotate objects in 3-D nearly twice as fast as with competing technologies. With no latency or detectable lag time between what the users are doing and what they see on the screen it accelerates the efficiency of completing tasks. And because it is made of plastic and manufactured on a 3-D printer, the costs are considerably less, researchers say.

“There are no electronic components in the system that aren't already on your smartphone, tablet or laptop, and 3-D printing the cube is not costly,” Chen said. “That really leaves only the cost of our software.”

The full research results will be presented at the Graphics Interface conference held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on May 16-19.