Conventional desktop applications provide users with hotkeys as shortcuts for triggering different functionality. In this paper we consider what constitutes an effective parallel to hotkeys in a 3D interaction space where the input modality is no longer limited to the use of a keyboard. We propose HotGestures: a gesture-based interaction system for rapid tool selection and usage. Hand gestures are frequently used during human communication to convey information and provide natural associations with meaning. HotGestures provide shortcuts for users to seamlessly activate and use virtual tools by performing hand gestures. This approach naturally complements conventional menu interactions. We evaluate the potential of HotGestures in a set of two user studies and observe that our gesture-based technique provides fast and effective shortcuts for tool selection and usage. Participants found HotGestures to be distinctive, fast, and easy to use while also complementing conventional menu-based interaction.

The need to support efficient text input in virtual reality continues to attract significant research attention. However, much of this research understandably focuses exclusively on core text input tasks involving the entry of standard alphabetic characters. The less common though still critical task of entering special characters is often ignored. In this paper we focus on this niche use case as chiefly encountered when entering passwords. Current commercial virtual keyboards allow users to switch between different layers of the keyboard in order to access capital letters, numerals and special characters by pressing an explicit mode-switch button. We propose a new method of switching between layers of a virtual keyboard using hand gestures. Critically, these hand gestures are seamlessly performed in conjunction with key selections to deliver an efficient and intuitive interaction. We report on a user study with 16 participants entering standard passwords comparing our gesture-based mode switching approach to a conventional button-based baseline. We find that with practice our proposed method results in significantly faster entry rates without any deterioration in accuracy. Feedback from users also indicates that our technique is considered efficient and comfortable to use.