Relative Pointing Interface: A gesture interaction method based on the ability to divide space

Abstract

A new type of 3D gesture interface called Relative Pointing Interface (RelPoInt) is suggested in this study. RelPoInt allows users to select a virtual button by pointing to a relative position in a virtual 3D menu. This approach makes use of the distance or angle between the relative point and the reference point. Users can set the reference point freely and operate all the functions on the menu with a simple gesture. Microsoft Kinect was used to implement the RelPoInt in this study. To suggest a radial menu suitable for the RelPoInt, we conducted an experiment in which 20 participants were asked to point to virtual buttons, which were divided into four to eight regions. Errors and subjective assessment of easiness were measured at each treatment condition. RelPoInt can make users to manipulate functions without memorizing complicated gesture vocabularies, which is among the most serious pain points of using a gesture interface. Furthermore, RelPoInt does not require expensive gesture recognition equipment compared with finger recognition interfaces because the required resolution of interaction recognition is less sophisticated. It can be useful in applying 3D gesture interfaces to a variety of devices for smart home, virtual or augmented reality. Relevance to industry The proposed interface can be applied to various environments with low cost and easy to implement. Therefore, this interface is highly worthy of use in areas where gestures are useful to interact, such as IoT (Internet of Things) and VR (Virtual Reality)/AR (Augmented Reality).