Poke Typing: Effects of Hand-Tracking Input and Key Representation on Mid-Air Text Entry Performance in Virtual Reality
Mehmet Akhoroz, Caglar Yildirim · 2024
In this paper, we investigated the effects of hand-tracking input on mid-air text entry performance in virtual reality as a function of the key representations used in the virtual keyboard, i.e., flat 2D keys vs. protruded 3D keys. This led to a comparison among four conditions: controller input using 2D keys, controller input using 3D keys, hand-tracking input using 2D keys, hand-tracking input using 3D keys. Results from our user study (n = 28) revealed that controller input (15.3 WPM) outperformed hand-tracking input (13.8 WPM) in terms of text entry rates and that protruded 3D keys (15.6 WPM) led to faster text entry performance than did flat 2D keys (13.4 WPM). While the four conditions did not differ in error rates, flat 2D keys led to a greater number of character corrections. In addition, results showed that compared to flat 2D keys, protruded 3D keys lowered the perceived mental workload of the text entry task. These results indicate that despite the technological advances in hand-tracking technology, controller input is still more performant than hand-tracking input for VR text entry tasks and that protruded 3D keys afford faster text entry and better user experience than do flat 2D keys. That said, hand-tracking input can still be used for mid-air text entry without extreme performance losses.