A primer from EE Times surveying the technological landscape (with challenges and opportunities) related to the creation of 3D gestural UIs (more EE Times articles on similar topics).
“Stereo vision technology demands considerable software complexity for high-precision 3D depth data that can be processed by digital signal processors (DSPs) or multicore scalar processors. Stereo vision systems can be low cost and fit in a small form factor, making them a good choice for devices like mobile phones and other consumer devices. However, stereo vision systems cannot deliver the accuracy and response time that other technologies can, so they’re not ideal for systems requiring high accuracy.”
Link: Gesture recognition–first step toward 3D UIs? (eetimes.com)
There are studies dating from the 70s to this day that conclusively conclude 3D interfaces are not something we want to strive for. The main problem: People’s hands and arms get tired very quickly when using 3D interfaces. “3D” is a buzzword. Let’s avoid it.
We interact with a 3D world all day, every day. My guess is that it’s more that we haven’t found the right set of design approaches and technologies that make digital interactive 3D experiences a compelling proposition.