Creating effective ways to type without a traditional keyboard remains a significant hurdle in XR (extended reality) systems that impacts productivity. Recognizing this, a group of innovative researchers compiled an extensive repository of existing text entry methods. This compilation serves as a resource for analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of each technique, offering others a valuable starting point for developing more advanced approaches.
Maximiliano Di Luca, who spearheads the VR Lab at the University of Birmingham in the UK, is intimately familiar with the intricacies of virtual reality. He previously contributed at Meta, working on hand inputs and haptics for VR, and his industry-academic collaboration on Android XR has received well-deserved acknowledgment from the ACM SIGCHI 2025 awards.
As immersive worlds continue to evolve, the challenge of entering text efficiently in these environments becomes more pressing. Whether it’s composing messages in digital workspaces or interacting on social platforms in VR/AR, effective text input is crucial for any XR application.
To tackle this issue, teams from prestigious institutions such as the University of Birmingham, the University of Copenhagen, Arizona State University, and others collaborated to create the XR TEXT Trove. This ambitious project documented over 170 text input strategies specifically designed for XR. By categorizing these methods with 32 distinct codes, including attributes like the type of input device and performance criteria such as typing speed, the Trove provides a detailed overview of the field.
Our research highlighted several critical insights. Firstly, the number of typing elements, such as fingers or devices, directly affects typing speed. For instance, using multiple fingers significantly boosts performance, akin to traditional touch-typing on a keyboard. In fact, adding each new finger can increase typing speed by around 5 words per minute.
Moreover, incorporating haptic feedback, utilizing solid surfaces for typing (rather than typing in air), and limiting visualization to the fingertips can enhance the typing experience. These strategies not only streamline the process but also reduce muscle fatigue, mitigating what’s often referred to as Gorilla Arm Syndrome.
Interestingly, despite various innovations, keyboards remain peerless in terms of pure speed, likely due to the steep learning curve associated with other methods. The potential for unlocking faster typing in XR could lie in minimizing finger travel distances using advanced learning algorithms. XR could benefit from a breakthrough similar to the “swipe-typing” innovation on smartphones, which revolutionized single-finger typing efficiency.
The XR Text Trove represents a significant stride towards enhancing text input in immersive environments. It provides a rich resource for both researchers and developers, guiding them toward more efficient and user-centric text input solutions. The team’s findings and methods will be showcased at the upcoming ACM CHI conference in Yokohama, Japan.
Furthermore, this initiative parallels the efforts behind the Locomotion Vault, which also aims to catalog VR techniques for locomotion, demonstrating a commitment to advancing XR technology.
