Object manipulation in virtual environments: human bias, consistency and individual differences

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates human bias, consistency and individual differences when performing object manipulation in a virtual environment. Eight subjects were asked to manipulate a wooden cube to match a 3-D graphic target cube presented in 3 locations and 2 orientations. There were two visual conditions for the experiment: the subject performed the tasks with or without vision of the hand and the wooden cube. The constant errors of object translation and orientation suggested specific human biases. In terms of the variable errors, visual feedback appeared to be more critical for object transportation than object orientation. It was also found that individual differences were more pronounced in human bias than in consistency during object manipulation. These results suggest tolerance for human bias and variability should be accommodated in human-computer interface design.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Keywords:
human performance, interface design, object manipulation, virtual environment