Impact of Pointing Interfaces on Human Hand Motor Precision in 3D Tracking Tasks

Numerous studies have examined the precision of hand motor control. However, while existing literature has contributed significantly to our understanding of hand motor control in natural conditions, there is a noticeable gap regarding the effects of using additional devices (hand-held or wearable) on path tracking precision. This study explores the impact of using pointing devices on sensorimotor performance in hand motor control. Our experimental campaign involved forty participants who were asked to track a given trajectory displayed in mixed reality while using various pointing interfaces. The experiment considered four different tracking modalities and three distinct 3D trajectories. Results indicate that holding a device typically degrades performance in trajectory tracking.