Investigation of Targeting-Assistance Techniques for Distant Pointing with Relative Ray Casting

Pointing at displays from a distance is becoming a common scenario for controlling computers and entertainment systems. Several devices use direct-pointing methods, where the user points a hand-held device at targets on a screen, but these often suffer from accuracy problems. Many techniques have been explored for improving mouse-based pointing, but little is known about targeting assistance for distant pointing. We carried out experiments to test targeting assistance with a relative form of ray casting, common with devices such as the Nintendo Wiimote. We tested two motor-space techniques (sticky targets and target gravity), and three types of sensory-based acquisition feedback (visual, tactile, and aural). We found that the motor-space techniques were significantly more effective than control and that the sensory-based acquisition feedback. Overall, our studies provide initial results on the applicability of several previously uninvestigated targeting assists for distant pointing. Further, it shows the strong potential of motor space assists for improving target selection performance.