Object manipulation in virtual environments: relative size matters

ABSTRACT

An experiment was conducted to systematically investigate combined effects of controller, cursor and target size on multidimensional object manipulation in a virtual environment. It was found that it was the relative size of controller, cursor and target that significantly affe&d object transportation and orientation processes. There were significant interactions between controller size and cursor size as well as between cursor size and target size on the total task completion time, transportation time, orientation time and spatial errors. The same size of controller and cursor improved object manipulation speed, and the same size of cursor and target generally facilitated object manipulation accuracy, regardless of their absolute sizes. Implications of these findings for human-computer interaction design are discussed.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
          Subjects: Input devices and strategies (e.g., mouse, touchscreen)

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.1 MODELS AND PRINCIPLES
      H.1.2 User/Machine Systems
          Subjects: Human factors
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
          Subjects: Evaluation/methodology

General Terms:
Experimentation, Verification

Keywords:
3D, Fitts' law, controls and displays, docking, graphic design, human performance, input device, size effect, user interfaces, virtual reality