The environment built so far is called SpaSca, short for ‘Spatial Scaffolding’, where you can interact using gestures, Wrist controls, Code Snippets and author onto a ‘Cube’.
- Wrists. There are convenient controls attached to your wrists:
- Tapping on the cube on your dominant hand’s wrist to reveal and hide your authoring ‘Cube’.
- Tapping on the sphere on your non-dominant hand’s wrist to hide and reveal snippets of code.
- Code Snippets. There are snippets of code available for you to interact with:
- To move the snippets pinch with your dominant hand on the left side of the snippet (this is the actionable section)
- To execute a snippet tap with your non-dominant hand on the left side of the snippet.
- To customize wrists, you can drag and drop a snippet of code onto your wrist to make tapping that wrist execute that command.
- PDF. You can upload documents to this environment through a local Web browser.
- Cards. There are index cards with reference information which can be moved in space.
- Manuscript. There is a manuscript available in some of the experiences which you can type onto using a Bluetooth keyboard.
- Cube. You have access to an–experimental–authoring ‘Cube’ which will act like your tablet, notepad or volume for writing and sculpting information. The current incarnation of the Cube is in early stages with more functionality to come.
Experience
The first view you will have will explain what the wrists are and how to use them. Please note, this is primarily a standing experience.
Element: Sphere on left Wrist.
To Interact: Tap the Sphere with the pointing finger on your right hand to see Code Snippets. Then turn around and tap the left side of ‘jxr nextDemo()’ with your left hand.
https://companion.benetou.fr/index.html?username=instructionsonhands
https://companion.benetou.fr/index.html?username=demoqueueq1
Physical Table in VR
This is primarily a seated or standing in a small area experience entirely in VR, with the real world not visible through passthrough. However, we recognize that some users will be doing their work at their desk and therefore the experience accommodates aligning a visual virtual desk with your physical desk. This not only allows you to see the desk and thereby avoid bumping into it, it also means you can use it for placing knowledge objects or to lean on.
Element: Yellow Bar.
To Interact: Grab the center of the yellow bar and drag it down to the front edge of your desk. It should then become grey and indicate where this physical boundary is.
Note: This is expected to extend to cover the table surface at a later stage.
https://companion.benetou.fr/index.html?username=tabletest
Wrists
Your wrist controls can be customized.
Elements: Left and Right Wrists.
To Interact: You can drag a Code Snippet onto the Sphere on your left Wrist or onto the Cube on your right Wrist to make the new Code Snippet the active command.
To re-set and move on, tap on ‘jxr nextDemo()’
https://companion.benetou.fr/index.html?username=q1_step_shortcutset
Interacting with Pen & PDF
You can grab pens by the tip and draw onto the PDF.
Elements: PDF & Pens.
To Interact: Pick up pen by the tip and draw.
https://companion.benetou.fr/index.html?username=q1_step_highlights
‘Cards’ in Space
There are a series of small index cards with reference information available which you can pick up with your right hand and pinch on the left side of the cards to place them anywhere in the space. This is used for testing interactions with basic spatial relationships.
Elements: Index Cards.
Interaction: Move the Cards anywhere in the space.
https://companion.benetou.fr/index.html?username=q1_step_refcards
Cube
To Spawn your authoring cube tap on the cube on your right wrist. The Cube can be unfolded to reveal further information for your authoring, much like you can open document. However, the Cube displays significant information when folded closed, unlike traditional documents.
Elements: Cube & right wrist.
To Interact: Tap the cube on your right wrist to spawn & hide the Cube.
To unfold the Cube tap on the ‘A’ side of the Cube to unfold (gestures are coming later).
XR: https://companion.benetou.fr/index.html?username=refoncubetester
Manuscript
You can type on the manuscript and you it also demonstrates the use of the panels in space, which you can lift the manuscript and move towards, where it will stick to the nearest panel.
Screenshot in VR
You can take screenshots in the environment for use in external presentations. Description to follow
Audio Recording
You can record audio in the environment to convey information about what you see to others. Description to follow
Upload Document via desktop
The XR experience is built on real-world Knowledge Objects, including your own PDF documents which are converted on transfer to XR.
To upload a document, open the XR experience in your desktop/laptop browser and look at the top right corner, where you will have the message (‘Drag File to Upload’ ) to let you drag and drop a document which will then be available when you enter XR.
Visual Background
You can choose what background is most conducive to your work. These can be purely ornamental, such as a grey background or 3D model of a room, and potentially in the future also semantic for ambient information (such as displaying live time of day for a specific location, weather etc.)
- XR (moving color lines)
https://companion.benetou.fr/index.html?username=backgroundexploration - XR(low opacity lines)
https://companion.benetou.fr/index.html?username=backgroundexplorationlowopacity - XR (static white lines)
https://companion.benetou.fr/index.html?username=backgroundexplorationlowwhitestatic - XR (thin white lines)
https://companion.benetou.fr/index.html?username=backgroundexplorationlowwhite
Settings in URLs
The experience puts information into the URL/Web Address to provide easy customizability. You can see examples of this above, in ‘Visual Background’ where all the URLs start with:
https://companion.benetou.fr/index.html?username=
and variables as stored after ‘=’, for example:
poweruser
and put together becomes: