The Impact of 2D Dashboard Spatial Orientation on Gestural Interaction Performance and Ergonomic Concerns in Virtual Reality

Abstract

Default vertical dashboard orientations in virtual reality (VR) lack systematic ergonomic validation across mainstream gestural interaction paradigms. This study compares four dashboard orientations (horizontal, 60° inclined upward, vertical, 60° inclined downward) under direct hand contact and controller ray-cast pointing via a within-subjects experiment with 40 participants, using a standardized Fitts’ law reciprocal tapping task. Results revealed significant ergonomic differences among four orientations and their interactions with task difficulty: (1) 60° inclined upward orientation outperforms others in direct hand contact interaction, with amplified advantages in high-difficulty tasks; (2) vertical orientation achieves optimal short-term ray-cast pointing performance, while 60° inclined downward exhibits superior long-term fatigue resistance; (3) task difficulty modulated orientation effects, with smaller targets amplifying the advantages of the 60° inclined upward and vertical orientations for direct hand contact and ray-cast pointing interaction, respectively. This study provides evidence-based guidelines for VR dashboard design and enriches the 3D spatial interaction ergonomics framework.