Ubiquitous Interactions for Heads-Up Computing

What is it about?

Current ways to select commands or navigate spatial information in Optimal Head-Mounted Displays (OHMDs), like smart glasses, include handheld controllers, trackpads on spectacle frames, or voice input. But these ways of providing input could be uncomfortable when used frequently, unsuitable when hands are busy, or inconvenient in noisy contexts. This paper examines how different body parts (arms, feet, jaw-teeth, thumb-index fingers) could be used as an alternative to providing input to smart glasses in a way that is more synergistic to a user's everyday activities.

Featured Image

Photo by CX Insight on Unsplash

Photo by CX Insight on Unsplash

Why is it important?

We provide a way to quantify and compare the intrusiveness of these input techniques while interacting with smart glasses, especially in everyday contexts that demand the use of hands, like cleaning or cooking. Our findings showed that, contrary to expectations on designing interactions for such hands-busy situations, thumb-index finger interaction was the most preferred as a cross-scenario interaction technique for selecting commands and navigating spatial information on smart glasses.