Interacting with Virtual Reality with a Controller Instead of the Body Benefits Performance and Perceptions

Abstract

Methods of interaction within virtual environments, such as virtual reality (VR), typically include hand-held controllers, but recent advances in technology are making body-based interactions possible, such as eye and hand tracking. These modern interaction methods may prove to be more natural and intuitive for users and improve their experience by reducing the mental effort associated with learning a new interaction. In this within-subjects experiment, we compared users’ performance on a speeded button selection task and ratings of their experience in five different interaction methods: controller-based (Trigger, Push, and Raycasting) and body-based (Eyetracking and Handtracking). We found that participants performed best with controller-based interactions and rated their experiences more favorably than the body-based interactions. Participants reported higher mental and physical effort in the body-based conditions than the controller-based conditions. Implications for VR system design and future research are discussed.