Natural interaction in virtual reality

Abstract

Many of the virtual reality (VR) interaction devices available to the general public rely on the use of controllers. However, theses ones generate some usability constraints. Current availability of new gestural devices provides a more "natural" way to interact in VR, i.e. minimizing cognitive load. However, this last one is rarely taken into account in the literature on VR design and evaluation. In order to fill this gap, we propose to evaluate, within a comparative study, the respective impact of 2 interaction paradigms on the cognitive load and performance of two dierent user populations (experienced vs. novice): gestural interaction using Leap Motion® (test group) and more traditional interaction using gamepad controllers (control group). Initial results indicate significantly higher cognitive load and significantly lower performance during gestural interaction with the Leap Motion® than during interaction with the Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for third-party components of this work must be honored. For all other uses, contact the owner/author(s).

Trade-Off between Task Accuracy, Task Completion Time and Naturalness for Direct Object Manipulation in Virtual Reality

“…There are several recent studies where hand tracking methods (in many cases based on Leap Motion, e.g., [9][10][11]13,15,16]) were compared against controller-based interaction methods. In most cases, hand tracking compared unfavorably against the regular controllers for object manipulation tasks [9][10][11]13,15,38] which require precision.…”

“…There are several recent studies where hand tracking methods (in many cases based on Leap Motion, e.g., [9][10][11]13,15,16]) were compared against controller-based interaction methods. In most cases, hand tracking compared unfavorably against the regular controllers for object manipulation tasks [9][10][11]13,15,38] which require precision. Masurovsky et al [15] compared the standard and modified Leap Motion-based hand tracking against an Oculus controller and found the controller solution to outperform both hand tracking alternatives.…”

“…Rigid object manipulation (such as the model observations, above) is one of the fundamental tasks in virtual reality besides navigation and way finding, according to Bowman and Hodges [8]. Previous research results indicate (e.g., [9][10][11]) that hand-tracking-based systems are not necessarily as accurate or efficient as controller-based systems for direct object manipulation in VR. However, if hand tracking is a viable interaction method, the system user would be able to avoid learning new control methods.…”

“…Earlier studies (e.g., [9][10][11]13,15,16]) compared hand-tracking-and controller-based interaction techniques in terms of task accuracy and task completion time and used these two factors to choose the optimal interaction technique for object manipulation. The present experiment demonstrates that there is a trade-off between naturalness, task accuracy and task completion time when using these direct manipulation interaction techniques, and we should also consider naturalness while making the decision of choosing the interaction technique for direct object manipulation.…”

Interactive Assembly Simulation in an Immersive Virtual Environment

“…Galais et al [7] evaluated gestural interaction using LeapMotion and a traditional interaction device, using gamepad controllers. The comparative study is based on the cognitive load and performance of object manipulation, performed by 11 experienced users and 8 novice users.…”