Bend It, Aim It, Tap It: Designing an On-Body Disambiguation Mechanism for Curve Selection in Mixed Reality

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel on-body disambiguation mechanism combined with Bezier curve-based selection to improve object selection accuracy and user experience in dense, occluded mixed reality environments.

Contribution

It presents a new on-body projection technique for disambiguating object selection and integrates it with a curve-based input method for enhanced mixed reality interaction.

Findings

On-body disambiguation reduces selection errors and physical effort.

Bezier curves enable expressive, flexible selection of occluded targets.

Combined techniques improve user satisfaction and perceived performance.

Abstract

Object selection in Mixed Reality (MR) becomes particularly challenging in dense or occluded environments, where traditional mid-air ray-casting often leads to ambiguity and reduced precision. We present two complementary techniques: (1) a real-time Bezier Curve selection paradigm guided by finger curvature, enabling expressive one-handed trajectories, and (2) an on-body disambiguation mechanism that projects the four nearest candidates onto the user's forearm via proximity-based mapping. Together, these techniques combine flexible, user-controlled selection with tactile, proprioceptive disambiguation. We evaluated their independent and joint effects in a 2x2 within-subjects study (N = 24), crossing interaction paradigm (Bezier Curve vs. Linear Ray) with interaction medium (Mid-air vs. On-body). Results show that on-body disambiguation significantly reduced selection errors and physical demand while improving perceived performance, hedonic quality, and user preference. Bezier input provided effective access to occluded targets but incurred longer task times and greater effort under some conditions. We conclude with design implications for integrating curved input and on-body previews to support precise, adaptive selection in immersive environments.