Overcoming Legacy Bias: Re-Designing Gesture Interactions in Virtual Reality With a San Community in Namibia

Title of the Paper

Overcoming Legacy Bias: Co-Designing Gesture Interactions in Virtual Reality with the Namibian San Community

Paper Information

• Field of Study: Human-Computer Interaction, Virtual Reality, Cultural Diversity in Design
• Keywords: Virtual Reality, Gestures, Natural Interaction, Namibia, San Community, User Experience, Indigenous Culture, Diversity, Co-Design

Research Background and Problem

• Identified Problem or Challenge: Current virtual reality gesture interaction designs exhibit significant legacy bias, meaning they are typically based on technical standards rooted in Western cultural contexts, neglecting diversity and the needs of non-Western users. Existing VR gesture interactions are predominantly technology-driven, lacking user-centered design processes, particularly input from marginalized and non-typical user groups.
• Importance of the Problem: As virtual reality technology becomes more widely adopted, its user base and application scenarios are increasingly diverse, demanding greater inclusivity in design. Designing natural interaction gestures that accommodate diverse cultural contexts can reduce systemic bias and contribute to the social equity of technology.
• Research Motivation and Related Work: Recent years have seen a growing focus in HCI on marginalized users, particularly those from the Global South. These users are often overlooked or viewed solely through a "needs assistance" lens. The authors build on the "Three Ps Method" (Partner, Production, Priming) proposed by Morris et al. to design gestures and advocate for the inclusion of non-Western users, especially indigenous communities, in the design process to enhance diversity.

Proposed Solution

• Proposed Solution: The authors explore a co-design approach for gesture interactions in collaboration with the Namibian San community, integrating the "Three Ps Method" with co-design practices to design natural interaction gestures and implement VR prototypes.
• Innovative Aspects:
  • Methodological: Combining the approach of Morris et al. with community co-design to incorporate more user-driven perspectives into the design process.
  • Technical: Implementing user-suggested gestures and embedding the cultural context provided by the community into VR applications.
  • Participatory Design: Including marginalized user groups to make technology design more inclusive.
• Implementation Steps and Key Technologies:
  1. Gesture Exploration Phase:
     • Using a partner-based game approach (similar to a charades game) to extract design-relevant information from the natural gestures of community members.
     • Conducting quantitative and qualitative analyses to document gesture types and compare them with existing gesture models.
  2. Virtual Reality Exploration Phase:
     • Allowing community members to experience gesture-based interactions through the VR application Hands Physics Lab and observing their natural reactions.
  3. VR Prototype Development:
     • Creating a VR camp scene prototype on the Unity platform and implementing interaction functions based on gestures designed with the community.
  4. Redesign Phase:
     • Refining designs collaboratively with the community based on their usage experiences and feedback on the VR prototype.

Research Outcomes

• Specific Outcomes:
  • Confirmed the five gesture categories defined by Aigner et al. and observed significant cultural context influences on gesture performance within the San community.
  • Developed and validated initial implementations of gestures such as "stop," "pointing," and "thumbs-up," with "stop" being widely accepted.
  • Proposed the research direction of composite gestures, enabling VR functionalities through complex gesture combinations.
• Advantages Compared to Existing Solutions:
  • Incorporates perspectives from marginalized communities, helping to reduce legacy bias and diversify gesture design.
  • Technically validates the effectiveness of gestures for VR interaction.
  • Expands the cultural adaptability of human-VR interaction, aligning technology design more closely with user contexts.
• Experimental or Evaluation Results:
  • Field research recorded 119 gestures, revealing that pointing and iconic gestures have cross-cultural universality, while symbolic gestures show significant cultural differences.
  • Gestures co-designed with the community received positive feedback in the VR prototype; some gestures, such as "stop," were naturally accepted, while others, like "thumbs-up," required contextual adjustments.
  • Women exhibited higher emotional responses in VR participation, while men displayed more restrained movements.
• Limitations and Future Directions:
  1. Limitations:
     • Gesture designs are currently specific to a particular cultural context and have not been validated for applicability in other cultures.
     • Technical implementation is constrained by the precision of gesture detection and hardware performance.
  2. Future Directions:
     • Further research on the technical implementation of composite gestures to explore more complex natural interactions.
     • Expanding the participant pool to validate the cross-cultural adaptability of gesture designs.
     • Enhancing analysis of gender differences and socio-cultural factors to design interaction mechanisms suitable for diverse user groups.