Controllers faster but hand tracking preferred with vibration feedback in VR
Comparing Haptic Feedback Across Hand Tracking and Controllers in VR Object Interaction Tasks
Human-Computer Interaction
Summary
In virtual reality, people can use hand tracking or controllers to interact with objects. Controllers let users perform some actions faster, but hand tracking is more accurate and liked better overall. The researchers tested different kinds of touch feedback like vibration and impulse with both input types. They found that adding these feedbacks didn’t strongly improve performance but most people liked feeling vibration best. This shows that the effect of touch feedback depends on the device and the action being done.
What this means in practice
- •For vr hardware designers: Design haptic feedback systems optimized for both hand tracking and controllers to improve user preference in VR object manipulation.$Commercial implications: Enables creation of VR devices with tailored vibration feedback to enhance natural interaction and user satisfaction.
- •For vr game developers: Implement varied haptic feedback types in VR games to align with users’ input method preferences and maintain interaction accuracy.
Authors
Natalia Ocampo, J. Felipe Gonzalez, Robert J. Teather, Kiyoshi Kiyokawa
Abstract
Hand tracking offers natural VR interaction but lacks controllers' inherent tactile feedback, while haptic feedback across input methods remains understudied. We conducted a participant study comparing vibration, impulse, and no feedback in hand- and controller-based VR interaction across grasp-, pinch-, and tap-like gestures assessing performance, workload, and preference. A custom glove and controller-mounted device provided both feedback types, aiming for consistency across input modalities. Controllers were faster for grasp and pinch, whereas hand tracking was more accurate for pinch and preferred overall. Haptics had limited performance effects, although impulse reduced grasp accuracy with controllers. Participants preferred vibration and impulse over no haptic feedback, favouring vibration overall. Our findings reveal a more nuanced relationship between haptic feedback, input device, and interaction context than suggested by previous work.