The research project CONTIGRA is devoted to the component-based development of interactive 3D applications mainly for DesktopVR and the Web. We developed a classification and specification approach for 3D widgets and a document-centered component architecture on the basis of XML along with a visual authoring tool.
The topic of the PhD-project CONTIGRA is "Metaphors of 3D interaction and component-based development of three-dimensional user interfaces". Our vision is to use a standardized repertoire of 3D-widgets, metaphors and interaction techniques to build intuitive and attractive 3D user interfaces. Those non-WIMP interfaces should be developed in an easy and interdisciplinary way using 3D components. Other important project goals are independence of specific system platforms and 3D formats, the usage of standards like XML and finally scalability concerning the web.