ForcePinch: Force-Responsive Spatial Interaction for Tracking Speed Control in XR

2025-07-24

AI Summary

In existing XR spatial interaction techniques, hand motion is tightly coupled with pointer velocity, hindering simultaneous support for rapid navigation and fine-grained manipulation. To address this, we propose ForcePinch—a dynamic velocity modulation method grounded in pinch-force feedback, which imports the physical principle of friction-based control into virtual interaction and achieves, for the first time, decoupling of hand displacement from tracking velocity. Leveraging a pressure-sensor hardware prototype and an adaptive mapping function, ForcePinch converts real-time pinch force into 1D/2D/3D pointer velocity control signals. A user study demonstrates that ForcePinch significantly outperforms baseline methods—including Go-Go and PRISM—in operational flexibility, pointing accuracy, and subjective user experience, particularly excelling in adaptive performance across multi-scale tasks requiring frequent switching between coarse and fine control regimes.

Technology Category

• Humans and AI: Interaction Techniques and Devices
• Intelligent Robots: Manipulation
• Computer Vision: Motion & Tracking

Application Category

• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Practical large-scale studies of user experience
• Graph Algorithms and Modeling for the Web: Efficient manipulation of static and dynamic Web-related graphs
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy

Abstract

Spatial interaction in 3D environments requires balancing efficiency and precision, which requires dynamic tracking speed adjustments. However, existing techniques often couple tracking speed adjustments directly with hand movements, reducing interaction flexibility. Inspired by the natural friction control inherent in the physical world, we introduce ForcePinch, a novel force-responsive spatial interaction method that enables users to intuitively modulate pointer tracking speed and smoothly transition between rapid and precise movements by varying their pinching force. To implement this concept, we developed a hardware prototype integrating a pressure sensor with a customizable mapping function that translates pinching force into tracking speed adjustments. We conducted a user study with 20 participants performing well-established 1D, 2D, and 3D object manipulation tasks, comparing ForcePinch against the distance-responsive technique Go-Go and speed-responsive technique PRISM. Results highlight distinctive characteristics of the force-responsive approach across different interaction contexts. Drawing on these findings, we highlight the contextual meaning and versatility of force-responsive interactions through four illustrative examples, aiming to inform and inspire future spatial interaction design.

Problem

• Balancing efficiency and precision in 3D spatial interaction
• Decoupling tracking speed from hand movements for flexibility
• Enabling intuitive speed modulation via force-responsive input

Innovation

• ForcePinch modulates speed via pinching force
• Hardware prototype with pressure sensor mapping
• Compares ForcePinch with Go-Go and PRISM techniques