PhD Oral Exam - Mucahit Gemici, Computer Science

When studying for a doctoral degree (PhD), candidates submit a thesis that provides a critical review of the current state of knowledge of the thesis subject as well as the student’s own contributions to the subject. The distinguishing criterion of doctoral graduate research is a significant and original contribution to knowledge.

Once accepted, the candidate presents the thesis orally. This oral exam is open to the public.

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) models are built at the desktop, where the mouse, the keyboard, and established software give the user control over every vertex, but the screen can show the shape from only one side at a time. Augmented Reality (AR) places the same shape in the room, where it can be examined from any angle and handled directly, while its own input methods lack the accuracy that modeling requires. Combining the two therefore is a question of division, which parts of the work belong on the screen and which in AR, and the arrival of AI assistants, which take over operations the user once performed, adds a new kind of work to divide. This thesis asks how desktop 3D modeling can be extended into AR so that the user gains what AR provides without losing what the desktop provides, and answers it through four manuscripts. A study of writing with an AI assistant on an AR screen beside the monitor measures the cost of crossing between the desktop and AR. Modeling Across Realities (MAR), a cross-reality modeling system, keeps mesh editing in Blender with the keyboard and mouse and uses AR for spatial inspection, viewpoint control, and mesh-element selection on one synchronized mesh. MeshMouse, a mouse-guided snapping technique, selects vertices, edges, and faces in AR with the same mouse used on the desktop. A cross-reality modeling assistant, built on MAR, lets the user indicate the part of the shape to change by describing it, selecting its elements, or drawing on it, and a study compares the three on named and unnamed regions. Together, these contributions show a unique way for the desktop, AR, and AI assistant to work on one shape, and they offer design guidance for cross-reality modeling tools.