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We have implemented our puzzle solution in in a head-tracked cubic display, pCubee,
which arranges five flat panel screens into the shape of a box.
By coupling pCubee with a 3D stylus, our solution supports a unique bimanual interaction model.
Users can operate the display and the stylus together to manipulate the puzzle pieces.
Simulated physics inside pCubee allow puzzle pieces to react to the movement of the display.
With the virtual stylus intersecting a puzzle piece, tapping the stylus button will select the piece.
Tapping the button again will release the piece from the stylus.
Once a piece is selected, it is mapped to the movement of the physical stylus.
We constrain the virtual stylus to always be within the visualization boundary,
and its relative location remains fixed to the movement of the display.
Users can rotate both the display and the stylus to change the orientation of a selected piece relative to pCubee.
We implemented a drag-and-clutch mechanism to better support large rotation with puzzle pieces.
While performing the drag-and-clutch rotation, the puzzle pieces is fixed in space relative to pCubee,
so the user can operate both that display and the stylus to obtain the desired rotational axis.
A snapping guide, represented by the white wireframe,
helps users to place puzzle pieces in the desired location in the solution.
It is also easy to select pieces out of the solution to make corrections as needed.
The user can reset the solution by shaking the display rapidly.
In our evaluation, 10 novices and 5 experts tried out the contest puzzle.
Completion rates were 70% for novices and 67% for experts, with average times of 12 minutes and 6 minutes respectively.
In an additional study, the same 10 novice users tried out a pair of physical and virtual Google puzzles.
Completion rate was 100%. On average, users spent 3 minutes on the physical puzzle and 6 minutes on the virtual puzzle.
Solving the cubic puzzle in pCubee is fun and shows promising potential of this unique, tangible display.