Handwritten Input Using a Palm as a Writing Medium in MR Environments

This paper introduces a handwriting input method that uses the palm of the hand as a writing surface to address the limited input options currently available for MR devices. By providing users with an additional text entry method, this research aims to improve the overall input experience in mixed reality (MR) environments. We developed a prototype on the Microsoft HoloLens 2 and conducted a study comparing four input methods: aerial handwriting, palm-supported handwriting, whiteboard-supported handwriting, and the default virtual keyboard. The results demonstrated that having a physical writing surface significantly enhances input speed, accuracy, and usability compared to aerial handwriting. It also demonstrated the possibility of eyes-free input. This indicates that using body parts as writing surfaces is a promising approach for text entry on MR devices.