ORCID

https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1485-9188

Year

2025

Season

Summer

Paper Type

Master's Thesis

College

College of Computing, Engineering & Construction

Degree Name

Master of Science in Computer and Information Sciences (MS)

Department

Computing

NACO controlled Corporate Body

University of North Florida. School of Computing

Committee Chairperson

Dr. Kevin Pfeil

Second Advisor

Dr. Corey Pittman

Third Advisor

Dr. Karthikeyan Umapathy

Department Chair

Dr. Nan Niu

College Dean

Dr. William Klostermeyer

Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) technologies continue to grow in popularity and application versatility, yet effective interaction within complex dense environments remains as a critical challenge. In particular, users with low level of VR experience often face decreased accuracy and dissatisfaction selecting occluded objects. A variety of interaction techniques to select and manipulate objects exist, but there is a research gap in understanding what kinds of techniques support users in dense environments. This study evaluates the user performance and preference in such environments. Three interaction techniques are examined in this study: Go-Go Hand, Flower Cone, and a proposed technique called RodCast Interaction. RodCast Interaction introduces an arc-based gesture-controlled technique to enhance object selection by previewing the interaction path. A within-subjects user study was conducted using a commodity VR headset and a simple virtual environment, where participants completed occluded object selection tasks with four standardized target distances and three defined density levels. Performance was assessed through accuracy and time. Although the Go-Go Hand and Flower Cone techniques outperformed RodCast in the overall results, certain findings suggest that RodCast may offer enhanced user experiences in larger environments or for users with greater experience. Overall, this study utilizes a user study to identify design considerations for interaction techniques in VR, with an emphasis on usability and effectiveness in high-occlusion scenarios.

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