Designing for the hands in VR. Designing and assessing haptic affordances for hand tracking interaction in VR. A case study on EMPEROR (French award-winning VR project)

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a simple but robust method to analyze hand tracking (HT) interactions, as haptic affordances, in Virtual Reality. In the logic of research creation, we have used EMPEROR, French VR artwork, as a ground for UX design research, with HT-based interaction design. EMPEROR offered an empirical field of research for haptic affordances, throughout the development. The aim of the study was to analyze if the users understood how to use their hands for two specific tasks. We proceeded to a blend of qualitative and quantitative methods and chronometry, to compare the performance of two groups of people (neophytes vs. acquainted VR users). The results show that performances are not better for skilled VR users, they depend on multiple factors such as analogy with IRL hand gestures, knowledge, and expectations inherited from video-games… This study could help game designers and researchers, both with UX and UI to enhance HT interaction design in VR.