This exists almost exactly as you describe, but only in the controller UI. Long press the A button on an Xbox or the X button on the PS controller to do a scan in a smallish area around you. The scan radius is big enough to pick up a bunch of objects but small enough you have to move around and rescan. It works well enough to pick up the objects that only reveal themselves when moused over in the keyboard UI.
Really? Well I'll have to try this tomorrow. I spent today resetting my tutorials to learn the keyboard interface just so I could be proficient in both. I'm kind of irate that several of the sub-menus we've been asking for re: spellcasting, weapons, are already implemented in the M&K interface. It boggles the mind why they didn't think to do the same with the radial menus.
