Abstract
This paper presents a text entry technique for mobile-based VR on a one-handed ambiguous keyboard. The one-handed keyboard prototype comprises an alternative 16 keys (4 × 4) custom mechanical keyboard with strong tactile bump switches, 3D printed adapted keycaps, and a camera to track which keys the user’s fingers are hovering over. This technique is an intuitive and user-centered solution that focuses on providing visual and tactile feedback in real-time, improving the typing experience and performance. For demonstration purposes, additional devices—a Samsung Galaxy S8, a Samsung Gear VR headset, and a VR hand controller—were used alongside the designed keyboard prototype. This technique has shown to be a potential extension or alternative for short-term text entry compared to standard mobile VR ray-casting selection techniques. Improvements and empirical comparisons based on user studies will compose the next stages of this research.
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Notes
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Besides the difficulty of aiming using the ray-casting technique (mainly on small objects), users have to keep the pointing steady, intersecting the desired object until the selection is confirmed by the users themselves (pressing a button) or by the system itself (dwell time). Considering that there is no physical support for users’ hands, this task becomes even more difficult [4].
- 2.
For the purposes of this study, we refer to mobile VR as those that are experienced just through active headsets. An active headset (e.g., Samsung Gear VR) provides interactivity through its electronics components and sensors. Differently, a passive headset (e.g., Google Cardboard) consists of a more simple headset that provides only viewing (non-interactive).
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This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001.
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Palmeira, E. et al. (2021). One-Handed Text Entry in Mobile-Based Virtual Reality: An Ambiguous Keyboard Technique. In: Ahram, T.Z., Falcão, C.S. (eds) Advances in Usability, User Experience, Wearable and Assistive Technology. AHFE 2021. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 275. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80091-8_36
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