Opportunities and Challenges of Text Input in Portable Virtual Reality

Text input in virtual reality is not widespread outside of labs, although being increasingly researched. Current setups require powerful components that are expensive or not portable, hence preventing effective in-the-wild use. Latest technological advances enable portable mixed reality experiences on smartphones. In this work, we propose a portable low-fidelity solution for text input in mixed reality on a physical keyboard that employs accessible off-the-shelf components. Through a user study with 24 participants, we show that our prototype leads to a significantly higher text input performance compared to soft keyboards. However, it falls behind on copy editing compared to soft keyboards. Qualitative inquiries revealed that participants enjoyed the ample display space and perceived the accompanied privacy as beneficial. Finally, we conclude with challenges and future research that builds upon the presented findings.