A Comparison of Table, Wall, and Midair Mixed Reality Keyboard Locations

Joshua Reynolds, Scott Kuhl, Keith Vertanen

MobileHCI 2022 Workshop on Shaping Text Entry Research for 2030, 2022.

Typing on a midair keyboard in mixed reality can be difficult due to the lack of tactile feedback when virtual keys are tapped. Locating the keyboard over a real-world surface offers a potential way to mitigate this issue. We measured user performance and preference when a virtual keyboard was located on a table, on a wall, or in midair. Despite the additional tactile feedback offered by the table and wall locations, we found the midair location had a significantly higher entry rate with a similar error rate compared to the other locations. Participants also preferred the midair location over the other locations.