If you ask someone to turn a button or knob that’s 8 inches (20 cm) in diameter, that’s going to be difficult, or even impossible, to do with one hand. People have physical limitations of movement, and range of motion based on body size and physical structure. If you’re an industrial designer, then you’re probably familiar with human factors and ergonomic standards.
But if you don’t have experience designing products that require body movement, you may need to learn about human factors and ergonomic standards in order to design for gestures, and augmented and virtual realities.
Note
If you need a reference book on human physical averages and limitations, check out Human Factors and Ergonomics Design Handbook (2016) by Barry Tillman, Peggy Tillman, Rhonda Rose, and Wesley Woodson.
Note
One reason augmented and virtual reality is powerful and holds promise for rich interactions is because people react to simulated environments as though they were real. Even if people know they’re interacting in a simulated or virtual environment, they react and behave as though the environment is real.
Takeaways
- If you’re not familiar with human factor ergonomic standards, familiarize yourself with them so you’re ready to design interfaces with gestures.
- If you haven’t personally experienced augmented or virtual reality devices, try them out so you’ll have a mental model of what the experience is like before you’re asked to participate in the design of one.
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