Get a Variable Grip: A Comparison of Three Gripping Techniques for Controller-Based Virtual Reality

This work-in-progress paper details a user study comparing three techniques for grasping virtual objects that differ in terms of how the firmness of users' grip of the controller affects the behavior of the virtual object: firm grip uses a direct mapping between the movement of the controller and object, firm+loose grip allows gravity to affect the object when the grip is less firm, and variable force grip varies the extent to which the object responds to gravity depending on how forceful the user's grip is. The study did not reveal any differences between the conditions in terms of perceived task load and usability. However, our findings suggest that variable force grip may be perceived as the most realistic, and we found some indication that variable force grip may impair task completion time.