ComforTable User Interfaces: Surfaces Reduce Input Error, Time, and Exertion for Tabletop and Mid-air User Interfaces

Handwriting for Text Input and the Impact of XR Displays, Surface Alignments, and Sentence Complexities

“…The lower physical demand for handwriting on physically aligned than mid-air surfaces (H2.4) suggests that both surfaces are suitable for short handwriting sessions but also indicates that physical surfaces are preferable for prolonged handwriting. This is in line with prior work, recommending physical surfaces for tasks requiring precise and fine-grained movements [3,13,31] or reducing arm and shoulder fatigue [15,71,72]. However, mid-air surfaces offer more flexibility, which can be particularly useful for non-stationary XR use cases [24,33,42].…”

“…Physical surfaces support precise and fine-grained movements, which are recommended for tasks like sketching [3,13], handwriting [30,31], and interactions with physical and virtual keyboards [17,38]. In contrast, mid-air surfaces offer more flexibility but lack the passive haptic feedback and stability of physical surfaces, linked to higher performance [15,67] and reduced task load, particularly due to arm fatigue [31,71,72]. For handwritten text input in VR, previous work investigated the impact of surface alignments and orientations.…”

“…Nevertheless, handwriting text input in Video See-Through (VST) AR remains underexplored. Handwriting typically takes place on physical surfaces, providing passive haptic feedback that supports fine-grained movement, improves performance [15,67], and reduces arm fatigue [31,71,72]. Consequently, physical surfaces are also integrated in XR.…”