The Design and Assignment of Microgestures to Commands for Virtual and Augmented Reality Tasks

Researchers have designed 3D (non-contacting) gestures for human-computer interaction (HCI) for desktop computers, automobiles, and augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) to improve functionality, and experience. 3D gestures provide a method for HCI in clean and dirty environments and settings where both hands need to be free for other tasks such as warehouse work. However, long-term use of 3D gestures may pose a risk of musculoskeletal fatigue especially if the gestures require movement at larger joints such as the shoulder or elbow. Microgestures involve motions of just the fingers and hands thereby reducing muscle fatigue and distraction. Current microgesture lexicons are not well designed for VR or AR systems because of differences in interactive requirements of the commands and context for their use. The purpose of this study was to design microgestures for AR and VR that follow user experiences with existing gestures while considering application, user preference and hand/wrist postures.