TY - GEN
T1 - Pointing and selection methods for text entry in augmented reality head mounted displays
AU - Xu, Wenge
AU - Liang, Hai Ning
AU - He, Anqi
AU - Wang, Zifan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 IEEE.
PY - 2019/10
Y1 - 2019/10
N2 - Augmented reality (AR) is on the rise with consumer-level head-mounted displays (HMDs) becoming available in recent years. Text entry is an essential activity for AR systems, but it is still relatively underexplored. Although it is possible to use a physical keyboard to enter text in AR systems, it is not the most optimal and ideal way because it confines the uses to a stationary position and within indoor environments. Instead, a virtual keyboard seems more suitable. Text entry via virtual keyboards requires a pointing method and a selection mechanism. Although there exist various combinations of pointing+selection mechanisms, it is not well understood how well suited each combination is to support fast text entry speed with low error rates and positive usability (regarding workload, user experience, motion sickness, and immersion). In this research, we perform an empirical study to investigate user preference and text entry performance of four pointing methods (Controller, Head, Hand, and Hybrid) in combination with two input mechanisms (Swype and Tap). Our research represents a first systematic investigation of these eight possible combinations. Our results show that Controller outperforms all the other device-free methods in both text entry performance and user experience. However, device-free pointing methods can be usable depending on task requirements and users' preferences and physical condition.
AB - Augmented reality (AR) is on the rise with consumer-level head-mounted displays (HMDs) becoming available in recent years. Text entry is an essential activity for AR systems, but it is still relatively underexplored. Although it is possible to use a physical keyboard to enter text in AR systems, it is not the most optimal and ideal way because it confines the uses to a stationary position and within indoor environments. Instead, a virtual keyboard seems more suitable. Text entry via virtual keyboards requires a pointing method and a selection mechanism. Although there exist various combinations of pointing+selection mechanisms, it is not well understood how well suited each combination is to support fast text entry speed with low error rates and positive usability (regarding workload, user experience, motion sickness, and immersion). In this research, we perform an empirical study to investigate user preference and text entry performance of four pointing methods (Controller, Head, Hand, and Hybrid) in combination with two input mechanisms (Swype and Tap). Our research represents a first systematic investigation of these eight possible combinations. Our results show that Controller outperforms all the other device-free methods in both text entry performance and user experience. However, device-free pointing methods can be usable depending on task requirements and users' preferences and physical condition.
KW - Augmented Reality
KW - Pointing Methods
KW - Selection Mechanisms
KW - Text Entry
KW - User Performance
KW - User Preference
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85078305008&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/ISMAR.2019.00026
DO - 10.1109/ISMAR.2019.00026
M3 - Conference Proceeding
AN - SCOPUS:85078305008
T3 - Proceedings - 2019 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality, ISMAR 2019
SP - 279
EP - 288
BT - Proceedings - 2019 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality, ISMAR 2019
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
T2 - 18th IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality, ISMAR 2019
Y2 - 14 October 2019 through 18 October 2019
ER -