A Theoretical Framework for Generating Copious Multi-Sensory Feedback From Virtual Buttons

This research describes a theoretical framework for designing multimodal feedback for 3D buttons in a virtual environment. Virtual button implementations often suffer from inadequate feedback compared to their mechanical, real-world, counterparts. This lack of feedback can lead to accidental button actuations and reduce the user’s ability to discover how to interact with the virtual button. We propose a framework for more expressive virtual button feedback that communicates visual, audio, and haptic feedback to the user. We apply the theoretical framework by implementing a software library prototype to support multimodal feedback from virtual buttons in a 3D virtual reality workspace.