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Evaluating Touchless Haptics for Interaction with Virtual Objects

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Intelligent Technologies for Interactive Entertainment (INTETAIN 2023)

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Abstract

In recent years, touchless (mid-air, hands-free) haptic interactive concepts with machines have gained popularity due to their health benefits and accessible feedback in everyday items. In particular, touchless haptics are particularly effective in creating realistic virtual environments. This paper examines the performance and user experience of touchless haptics for manipulating virtual objects. A comparative study involving seven participants was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a touch controller versus a touchless haptic system (Ultraleap). Participants tested three interaction techniques in a virtual environment, performing a range of control actions on various virtual objects, including adjusting the size and spatial position of geometric volumes and manipulating a lever. Results indicate that while the touch controller remains the preferred tool for simpler tasks due to its ease of learning, touchless haptics reveals nearly as effective when a virtual representation of the user's hands, as visual reference, is incorporated into the immersive environment. Under these conditions, both systems demonstrate comparable effectiveness for specific command and resizing tasks.

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Acknowledgements

Authors thank F. Pedraza for his technical contribution and participants who volunteered in the user study for their time and support. Additionally, authors acknowledge the funding under grant P ID2020-118249RB-C21 funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Information Processing and Telecommunications Center, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, ETSI Telecomunicación, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Ana M. Bernardos, Juan A. Besada, Gloria Cobo & José R. Casar

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  1. Ana M. Bernardos
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  2. Juan A. Besada
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  3. Gloria Cobo
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  4. José R. Casar
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ana M. Bernardos .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Durham University, Durham, UK

    Martin Clayton

  2. University of Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy

    Mauro Passacantando

  3. University of Genova, Genova, Genova, Italy

    Marcello Sanguineti

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Bernardos, A.M., Besada, J.A., Cobo, G., Casar, J.R. (2024). Evaluating Touchless Haptics for Interaction with Virtual Objects. In: Clayton, M., Passacantando, M., Sanguineti, M. (eds) Intelligent Technologies for Interactive Entertainment. INTETAIN 2023. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, vol 560. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-55722-4_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-55722-4_15

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-55722-4

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