RingText: Dwell-free and hands-free Text Entry for Mobile Head-Mounted Displays using Head Motions

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Virtual Reality Interfaces
• Usability Engineering

Background:

• Mobile head-mounted displays (HMDs) require intuitive hands-free text entry solutions.
• Existing methods often involve dwell-time or dedicated input devices, limiting usability.
• Circular keyboard layouts present a potential alternative for efficient selection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate RingText, a novel circular keyboard for HMDs.
• To investigate optimal design parameters through iterative studies.
• To compare RingText's text entry performance against other hands-free techniques.

Main Methods:

• Iterative design process involving user studies to optimize layout and selection mechanisms.
• Implementation of RingText with a virtual cursor controlled by head movements.
• Comparative performance evaluation against four other hands-free text entry methods.
• Longitudinal study with novice and expert users to assess efficiency and error rates.

Main Results:

• RingText significantly outperformed four other hands-free text entry techniques.
• The iterative design process refined features like one-letter-per-region and dynamic word suggestions.
• Novice users achieved 11.30 WPM after 60 minutes of training; expert users reached 13.24 WPM after 90 minutes.
• The system demonstrated high efficiency and low error rates in a four-day study.

Conclusions:

• RingText provides an efficient and effective hands-free text entry solution for mobile HMDs.
• The dwell-free circular layout and head-controlled cursor facilitate rapid text input.
• Further optimization may enhance performance, but current results show strong potential for VR/AR applications.