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Literature review reveals mixed effects of tangible user interfaces on cognitive workload and immersion in virtual environments, highlighting the need for context-specific evaluation.
Tangible user interfaces (TUIs) are a method of interfacing with virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) systems, allowing users to interact with virtual environments (VEs) through using a tangible, real-world item. Researchers and developers have implemented TUIs across domains, allowing users to utilize them in a variety of contexts. This work aimed to examine existing literature related to tangible user interfaces specifically to determine: (1) How does the use of TUIs influence cognitive workload in VEs? and (2) How does the use of TUIs influence perceived immersion in a VE? Findings are mixed, indicating that further research is needed in this area to understand how TUIs support user experience and performance in VEs and whether these outcomes vary across contexts.
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Roy et al. (2026) studied this question.
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