TouchView: Mid-Air Touch on Zoomable 2D View for Distant Freehand Selection on a Virtual Reality User Interface.

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Virtual Reality
• Computer Vision

Background:

• Object selection is crucial for virtual reality (VR) and 3D user interfaces (UIs).
• Raycasting, a common VR selection method, struggles with small or distant targets.
• Advancements in computer vision enable hand tracking, necessitating improved freehand interaction techniques.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate TouchView, a novel freehand selection technique for VR UIs.
• To enhance the speed and reduce the cognitive load of target selection in VR.
• To address the limitations of raycasting for small and distant object selection.

Main Methods:

• Developed TouchView, a technique using a virtual panel and a Through-the-Lens metaphor for direct touch interaction.
• Conducted a repeated-measures ANOVA experiment with 23 participants comparing TouchView to Hybrid Ray (a dominant raycasting technique).
• Analyzed user behavior to understand performance improvements.

Main Results:

• TouchView significantly outperformed Hybrid Ray in task performance.
• Participants reported lower perceived workload when using TouchView.
• TouchView was preferred by users over Hybrid Ray.

Conclusions:

• TouchView offers a superior alternative to freehand raycasting for VR UI selection, particularly for distant objects.
• The technique enhances user experience through faster, less demanding interactions.
• TouchView is suitable for VR applications requiring frequent view shifts and precise selection.