Abstract
This master thesis explores the touch interaction with 3D geo models on mobile surfaces and, in particular, high precision touch interaction for 3D visualization. This research is part of exploratory project at Schlumberger with a goal to investigate the opportunities that touch interaction offers in combination with Geographical Information System (GIS). I developed three distinct touch techniques and implemented them on the iPad2. Consequently, I investigated their advantages and disadvantages for different task types requiring high precision action, on the touch screen, by users.
In the evaluation phase, I employed both usability testing and experimental design methods to evaluate the touch techniques with different groups of users. After discovering the best candidate among the three techniques, I conducted another round of experiment to compare the performance of the touch technique with currently used interface, the mouse and the keyboard.