Characteristics of Pointing Movement in Physical and AR Environments: The Impacts of Index of Difficulty, Movement Angle, and Testing Surface Background

Human interactions with virtual objects differ from those with real objects. Understanding these differences is essential for improving human-virtual interaction. This study examined movement time (MT) during pointing tasks in physical and AR environments and tested whether a highlighted background enhances AR performance. A within-subject block-factorial experiment with 32 participants investigated the effects of index of difficulty (ID), movement angle, gender, hand dominance, and background design on MT. Results showed that MT in AR was approximately three times longer than in physical settings. The MT disparity between the two environments was influenced by ID, movement angle, and background design. Highlighted backgrounds reduced MT in AR, particularly at higher IDs and in longitudinal movements. Predictive MT models further revealed that, in physical settings, ballistic and visually controlled phases were segmented at an optimal ID of 6.13, whereas AR movements were predominantly visually controlled. These findings inform AR design for periuser interactions.

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