The World Processor: An Interface for Textual Display and Manipulation in Virtual Reality

Abstract

We propose a Virtual Reality interface for creating and manipulating textual and hypertextual information. Many current hypertext systems include concept maps in two dimensions. Our system, called the World Processor, offers the user a three-dimensional concept map. It allows the user to move through the map while exploring existing objects and their associated texts and adding new objects and texts. We discuss a number of interface issues raised by three-dimensional hypertext and then describe the World Processor as an attempt to address some of these issues. Of particular interest in the World Processor interface are its point-and-shoot selection technique, its methods for reading and editing text in 3D, its widgets for creating and modifying conceptual objects, and its auditory as well as visual feedback. Possible applications for three-dimensional hypertext include CSCW (particularly collaborative writing) and authoring systems for computer-based training.