Open Palm Menu: A Virtual Menu Placed in Front of the Palm

PubDate: February 2018

Teams: Ritsumeikan University,University of Tsukuba

Writers: Takumi Azai;Mai Otsuki;Fumihisa Shibata;Asako Kimura

PDF: Open Palm Menu: A Virtual Menu Placed in Front of the Palm

Abstract

Virtual and mixed realities make it possible to view and interact with virtual objects in a three-dimensional space. However, the location to display menus in three-dimensional space and the means of manipulating them are often problems. Existing studies developed methods of displaying a menu in the air or on the body. In this paper, a menu system is proposed that appears in front of the user’s palm (of the non-dominant hand) when he/she opens that hand. The user employs the other hand (dominant hand) to then interact with the menu. Using the space around the body as opposed to projections onto actual limbs makes it possible to display more items in more varied layouts. Additionally, the user can control rendering of the menu by opening or closing the hand. Being adjacent to the palm of the open hand also enables the user to adjust the hand position to operate the menu more comfortably or to move the menu to an area where it is easier to view. In this study, we conducted an experiment to develop the menu design guidelines to ensure smooth menu operation, designed an optimal menu, and tested that menu by determining the ease of use in interacting with our modeling application.