A Novel Bare-Handed Manipulation Technique for Distant Objects in Virtual Reality

Manipulating distant 3D objects in virtual reality (VR) with bare hands remains a challenge despite advancements in hand-tracking technology. We introduce the Two-Hand Fingertip-Palm (THFP) technique, which extends the interactive zone to the entire non-dominant hand to manipulate distant objects precisely. A user study comparing THFP to a bare-hand variant of HOMER (BHOMER) revealed that THFP achieves 75% greater accuracy, particularly in complex tasks like hanging a painting on a slanted wall, though it is 47% slower. THFP also received higher usability ratings (SUS) and reduced cognitive and physical demands (NASA-TLX), highlighting its user-centric design. These findings demonstrate THFP’s potential for improving distant object manipulation in VR.