The field of digital graphics has traditionally been living within its own virtual world since computers were invented. Often, computer-generated content has no awareness of the user and how the information is relevant to the user in the real world. The application is always simply waiting for a user command such as the mouse or keyboard input. One major limiting factor in the early design of computer applications is that computers are typically sitting on a desk in an office or in a home environment. The lack of mobility and the inability to interact with its environment or user ultimately limited the development of real-world interactive visualization applications.
Today, with the evolution of mobile computing, we have redefined many of our daily interactions with the world—for example, through applications that enable navigation with GPS using a mobile phone. However, instead of enabling users to seamlessly interact with the world, mobile devices still draw users away from...