Virtual Reality and Desktop as a Combined Interaction-Visualisation Medium for a Problem-Solving Environment

The paper addresses the problem of how to make a human-machine interaction user-friendlier within a problem-solving environment. Two different projection modalities – virtual reality and desktop solution are compared in respect to interaction capabilities provided by the Virtual Radiology Explorer (VRE) – case study of this research. The VRE is a problem-solving environment for vascular reconstruction, developed by the Section Computational Science of the University of Amsterdam. The potential users of the VRE are physicians, whose attitudes and motivations vary. The combination of virtual and desktop interaction modes within the same environment may help to satisfy the wider range of VRE users, in comparison to the case when only one projection modality is used. A Personal Space Station is considered as a possible solution for deploying this concept.