Text Input Techniques for Immersive Virtual Environments: An Empirical Comparison

Symbolic input, including text and numeric input, can be an important user task in applications of virtual environments (VEs). However, very little research has been performed to support this task in immersive VEs. This paper presents the results of an empirical evaluation of four text input techniques for immersive VEs. The techniques include the Pinch Keyboard (a typing emulation technique using pinch gloves), a one-hand chord keyboard, a soft keyboard using a pen & tablet, and speech. The experiment measured both task performance and usability characteristics of the four techniques. Results indicate that the speech technique is the fastest, while the pen & tablet keyboard produces the fewest errors. However, no single technique exhibited high levels of performance, usability and user satisfaction.