SATOR: Seamless 3D Teleportation to both Ground and Mid-Air Targets

Traditional target-selection-based teleportation depends on the intersection of a (curved) ray with the scene's geometry, which limits navigation to points on the ground, restricting users' navigational freedom. While previous techniques exist that permit mid-air target selection, they are not optimal for transitioning between air and ground navigation, leading to inaccurate or lengthy interaction sequences. In this paper, we introduce SATOR, a new 3D teleportation technique designed to enable efficient and accurate navigation to both ground and mid-air targets by combining and enhancing previous approaches. Informed by the literature, we implemented four different parametrizations of our technique and compared them to a previously published technique that also enables both ground and mid-air target selection. Our user study with 30 participants indicates that SATOR is more efficient, accurate, and easier to use than the baseline. As a result, SATOR effectively helps users get an overview of the environment, observe features at different heights, or maneuver quickly around larger obstacles.