Effects of Opaque, Transparent and Invisible Hand Visualization Styles on Motor Dexterity in a Virtual Reality Based Purdue Pegboard Test

The virtual hand interaction technique is one of the most common interaction techniques used in virtual reality (VR) systems. A VR application can be designed with different hand visualization styles, which might impact motor dexterity. In this paper, we aim to investigate the effects of three different hand visualization styles — transparent, opaque, and invisible — on participants’ performance through a VR-based Purdue Pegboard Test (PPT). A total of 24 participants were recruited and instructed to place pegs on the board as quickly and accurately as possible. The results indicated that using the invisible hand visualization significantly increased the number of task repetitions completed compared to the opaque hand visualization. However, no significant difference was observed in participants’ preference for the hand visualization styles. These findings suggest that an invisible hand visualization may enhance performance in the VR-based PPT, potentially indicating the advantages of a less obstructive hand visualization style. We hope our results can guide developers, researchers, and practitioners when designing novel virtual hand interaction techniques.