Virtual Object Manipulation by Combining Touch and Head Interactions for Mobile Augmented Reality

Abstract

This paper proposes an interaction method to conveniently manipulate a virtual object by combining touch interaction and head movements for a head-mounted display (HMD), which provides mobile augmented reality (AR). A user can conveniently manipulate a virtual object with touch interaction recognized from the inertial measurement unit (IMU) attached to the index finger’s nail and head movements tracked by the IMU embedded in the HMD. We design two interactions that combine touch and head movements, to manipulate a virtual object on a mobile HMD. Each designed interaction method manipulates virtual objects by controlling ray casting and adjusting widgets. To evaluate the usability of the designed interaction methods, a user evaluation is performed in comparison with the hand interaction using Hololens. As a result, the designed interaction method receives positive feedback that virtual objects can be manipulated easily in a mobile AR environment.

Keywords

• touch interaction
• head movements
• indirect manipulation
• augmented reality
• mobile HMD