Raycasting is a common method for target selection in virtual reality (VR). However, it results in selection ambiguity whenever a ray intersects multiple targets that are located at different depths. To resolve these ambiguities, we estimate object depth by projecting the closest intersection between the gaze and controller rays onto the controller ray. An evaluation of this method found that it significantly outperformed a previous eye convergence depth estimation technique. Based on these results, we developed GazeRayCursor, a novel selection technique that enhances Raycasting, by leveraging gaze for object depth estimation. In a second study, we compared two variations of GazeRayCursor with RayCursor, a recent technique developed for a similar purpose, in a dense target environment. The results indicated that GazeRayCursor decreased selection time by 45.0% and reduced manual depth adjustments by a factor of 10 in a dense target environment. Our findings showed that GazeRayCursor is an effective method for target disambiguation in VR selection without incurring extra effort.

Despite the potential benefits of assistive technologies (ATs) for people with various disabilities, only around 7% of Chinese with disabilities have had an opportunity to use ATs. Even for those who have used ATs, the abandonment rate was high. Although China has the world's largest population with disabilities, prior research exploring how ATs are used and perceived, and why ATs are abandoned have been conducted primarily in North America and Europe. In this paper, we present an interview study conducted in China with 26 people with various disabilities to understand their practices, challenges, perceptions, and misperceptions of using ATs. From the study, we learned about factors that influence AT adoption practices (e.g., misuse of accessible infrastructure, issues with replicating existing commercial ATs), challenges using ATs in social interactions (e.g., Chinese stigma), and misperceptions about ATs (e.g., ATs should overcome inaccessible social infrastructures). Informed by the findings, we derive a set of design considerations to bridge the existing gaps in AT design (e.g., manual vs. electronic ATs) and to improve ATs' social acceptability in China.

Past work in augmented reality has shown that temperature-associated AR stimuli can induce warming and cooling sensations in the user, and prior work in psychology suggests that a person’s body temperature can influence that person’s sense of subjective perception of duration. In this paper, we present a user study to evaluate the relationship between temperature-associated virtual stimuli presented on an AR-HMD and the user’s sense of subjective perception of duration and temperature. In particular, we investigate two independent variables: the apparent temperature of the virtual stimuli presented to the participant, which could be hot or cold, and the location of the stimuli, which could be in direct contact with the user, in indirect contact with the user, or both in direct and indirect contact simultaneously. We investigate how these variables affect the users’ perception of duration and perception of body and environment temperature by having participants make prospective time estimations while observing the virtual stimulus and answering subjective questions regarding their body and environment temperatures. Our work confirms that temperature-associated virtual stimuli are capable of having significant effects on the users’ perception of temperature, and highlights a possible limitation in the current augmented reality technology in that no secondary effects on the users’ perception of duration were observed.

Online language lessons have adopted live broadcasted videos to provide more real-time interactive experiences between language teachers and learners. However, learner interactions are primarily limited to the built-in text chat in the live stream. Using text alone, learners cannot get feedback on important aspects of a language, such as speaking skills, that are afforded only by offering richer types of interactions. We present results from a 2-week in-the-wild study, in which we investigate the use of text, audio, video, image, and stickers as interaction tools for language teachers and learners in live streaming. Our language teacher explored three different teaching strategies over four live streamed English lessons, while nine students watched and interacted using multimodal tools. The findings reveal that multimodal communication yields instant feedback and increased engagement, but its use is dependent on factors such as group size, surroundings, time, and online identity.