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. The authors carried out experiments to test targeting assistance with a relative form of ray casting, common with devices such as the Nintendo Wiimote. They tested two motor-space techniques (sticky targets and target gravity), and three types of sensory-based acquisition feedback (visual, tactile, and aural). They found that the motor-space techniques were significantly more effective than control and that the sensory-based acquisition feedback.