Revisiting Hybrid Input Devices for Immersive Analytics

Hybrid user interfaces offer a promising framework for analysts to leverage the strengths of heterogeneous environments, such as desktops and mixed reality, and transition fluidly between them. Especially for immersive analytics, which often blends 3D interaction spaces with traditional 2D workflows, such hybrid user interfaces can reduce cognitive workload and improve user experience. Prior work has combined desktop-based statistical analysis with an in-situ exploration of spatiotemporal data in mixed reality. However, switching between devices and input modalities in such combinations can disrupt users’ flow. We revisit the concept of hybrid input devices that operate seamlessly across 2D and 3D contexts by leveraging the complementary strengths of heterogeneous input devices. We thereby propose a hypothetical hybrid input device that combines input from a mouse and a spatial controller, for which we present potential interaction techniques and discuss potential opportunities and challenges for immersive analytics.