“Where Did I Put That?” – Effectiveness of Kinesthetic Memory in Immersive Virtual Environments

“Where Did I Put That?” – Effectiveness of Kinesthetic Memory in Immersive Virtual Environments
Achim Ebert, Matthias Deller, Daniel Steffen, Matthias Heintz
Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction. Applications and Services International Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction - Addressing Diversity (UAHCI-2009), 5th, located at HCI International 2009, July 19-24, San Diego, CA, USA

Abstract:

Kinesthetic memory is an essential factor in human interaction with the outside world. It helps adept keyboard users to type rapidly and hit the keys without having to look at them. It enables musicians to play their instruments without consciously having to think about the necessary movements. And it can help people to find things again, based on the location where they put them. The benefits of kinesthetic memory in the physical world are well known and well used for training or in physical therapy. Yet little effort has been made to examine the effects of kinesthetic memory in a virtual environment. In our paper, we present a user study designed to explore the intensity of kinesthetic memory while interacting with a large screen immersive environment. This could be used to improve the usability and effectiveness of user interfaces for such environments.