PointerVol: a laser pointer for swept volumetric displays

A laser pointer is a commonly used device that does not require communication with the display system or modifications on the applications, the presenter can just take a pointer and start using it. When a laser pointer is used on a volumetric display, a line rather than a point appears, making it not suitable for pointing at 3D locations. PointerVol is a modified laser pointer that allows users to point to 3D positions inside a swept volumetric display. We propose two PointerVol implementations based on timing and distance measurements, we evaluate the pointing performance using them. Finally, we present other features such as multi-user pointing, line patterns and a multi-finger wearable. PointerVol is a simple device that can help to popularize volumetric displays, or at least to make them more usable for presentations with true-3D content.