Computer sand art

Intuitive interactive methods for novice users to create 3D content and 3D geometry have eluded the CAGD community for several decades, and they continue to be critical yet unresolved challenges. The need for such methods is even more acute considering the fact that 3D printing is becoming a commodity. In contrast, modern geometric modeling tools are very complex and continue to be used primarily by professionals such as architects and engineers. Part of the difficulty of novice users to create 3D content might be found in the fact that input/output devices are mostly 2D. While novice users, in real life, do interact daily in 3D environments, typically, they do not create 3D content. In this work, we combine a Leap Motion device [42] / mouse+keyboard with the intuitive notion of sand art, or the creation of 3D artifacts on the seashore, using droplets of wet sand. The result is a very simple, yet highly interactive 3D modeling interface that is also demonstrated on several applications.