While low-cost smartphone-based mobile VR (MVR) improves access to extended reality (XR) technology, it lacks the interaction capabilities of high-end devices. Following PRISMA 2020 methodology, we present a survey of both established and emerging MVR interaction techniques for travel, selection, manipulation, and system control. We reviewed literature from four databases published between 2011–2025 that reported evaluations of MVR interaction techniques. We filtered an initial set of 1041 publications to 64 articles and synthesized the current state of MVR interaction, focusing on cost-accessible approaches. We found many effective low-cost emerging selection and travel techniques, but low-cost object manipulation techniques remain problematic. Acoustic sensing offered superior 3D interaction performance than other sensing modalities while keeping cost low. Our findings inform a novel taxonomy of emerging MVR interaction techniques. We further present a toolkit supporting the design of cost-accessible XR interactions. Our findings underscore practical advantages of DIY approaches to future standalone XR applications developments.

To address the need for high-complexity low-cost interaction methods for mobile VR, we present a Cardboard Controller, supporting 6-degree-of-freedom target selection while being made of low-cost, highly accessible materials. We present two studies, one evaluating selection activation methods, and the other comparing performance and user experience of the Cardboard Controller using ray-casting and the virtual hand. Our Cardboard Controller has comparable throughput and task completion time to similar 3D input devices and can effectively support pointing and grabbing interactions, particularly when objects are within reach. We propose guidelines for designing low-cost interaction methods and input devices for mobile VR to encourage future research towards the democratization of VR.

Social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic increased the popularity of online gaming; people used gaming as a coping mechanism to help relieve psychological distress while self-isolating. Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) in particular saw an increase in users through 2020. We present a study of the impact of established communities on social well-being within one MMORPG. We conducted an online survey (402 participants) in World of Warcraft-specific Discord and Reddit communities in March 2021. Our survey consisted of multiple choice and short answer questions to gauge how players’ perceived well-being was impacted by in-game relationships and interactions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our qualitative thematic analysis indicated that World of Warcraft helped participants form valued, meaningful relationships with other players, gave them a sense of purpose, and alleviated negative feelings brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on these results, we describe the unique affordances of MMORPG platforms that support social connection, and provide design recommendations to MMORPG developers for facilitating positive social interactions.

We present a study of the effects of field of view (FOV), target movement, and number of targets on visual search performance in virtual reality. We compared visual search tasks in two FOVs (~65°, ~32.5°) under two target movement speeds (static, dynamic) while varying the visible target count, with targets potentially out of the user’s view. We examined the expected linear relationship between search time and number of items, to explore how moving and/or out-of-view targets affected this relationship. Overall, search performance increased with a wide FOV, but decreased when targets were moving and with more visible targets. FOV more strongly influenced search performance than target movement. Neither FOV nor target movement meaningfully altered the linear relationship between visual search time and number of items. Participants also rated perceived workload for each condition; FOV and target movement both negatively affected the perceived workload, with target movement being a more significant factor.