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The Effect of Hand Visibility in AR: Comparing Dexterity and Interaction with Virtual and Real Objects
IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics
|October 3, 2025
Summary
Invisible hands improve fine motor control with real objects in augmented reality (AR), while some visualization is preferred for virtual objects, enhancing user experience.
Area of Science:
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Augmented Reality (AR)
- Virtual Reality (VR)
- Computer Graphics
Background:
- Hand-tracking technologies enable natural interaction with virtual and real objects in Augmented Reality (AR).
- Understanding the impact of hand visualizations on user performance and experience is crucial for effective AR system design.
- The interplay between visual representation of hands and object manipulation requires empirical investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the effect of different hand visualizations (invisible, transparent, opaque) on manipulation performance in AR.
- To compare user performance when interacting with real versus virtual objects.
- To explore user perception, including sense of agency and subjective impressions, related to hand visualizations.
Main Methods:
- A user study was conducted using video-see-through (VST) AR.
- Tasks included virtual building blocks and hot wire challenges with real-world counterparts, requiring gross and fine motor skills.
- Performance was measured by task completion time, collisions, and object displacement; user experience was assessed via questionnaires.
Main Results:
- Manipulation performance was significantly higher with real objects compared to virtual objects.
- Invisible hands resulted in fewer errors and improved user experience (agency, success, ease) during fine manipulation of real objects.
- Users preferred visualized virtual hands (transparent or opaque) for manipulating virtual objects, despite no significant performance gains.
Conclusions:
- Hand visualization significantly impacts manipulation performance and user experience in AR, differing between real and virtual object interactions.
- Invisible hands are optimal for fine manipulation of real objects in AR, enhancing precision and user perception.
- Visualizing virtual hands enhances user preference and experience when interacting with virtual objects in AR environments.
