Hybrid Input Technique for VR Combining Head Mounted Keyboard with Head Pointing

The Head Mounted Keyboard (HMK) is a text input method that attaches a physical split keyboard to the head mounted display (HMD). It allows high-speed text input by utilizing the touch-typing skills that many PC users have. However, numeric input with HMK is challenging because the user cannot see the keyboard. Our solution is a hybrid technique that combines HMK with head pointing. The technique, inputs letters via the HMK while numeric input uses head pointing to a virtual keyboard. In an experiment on typing tasks, the proposed technique outperforms the conventional alternatives. Some application examples were implemented to explore the application space of the technique.