A Virtual Reality Interface for Interactive Terrain Modeling

Many user interfaces exist for generating and modifying digital terrains. Traditional techniques involve erosion algorithms, procedural noise patterns, sketching interfaces, and texture synthesis. All of these approaches have limitations, however. These limitations stem from the disconnect between the user and the terrain. To solve this problem, we propose a virtual reality interface for the problem of terrain generation. Users are presented with a tabletop sized terrain within their headset and may interact with the terrain via gestures formed with handheld controllers. Two seperate VR interfaces were explored. The first interface allows users to push and relocate material similar to sand. The second approach allows users to stretch, push, and pull material similar to fabric. We completed a user study to assess and compare the effectiveness of the two interfaces.