Gaze-Based Interactions

We learned how the event-set component helps simplify interaction events for us. With our introduction to the cursor component, we can now understand how gaze-based or fuse-based interactions work. As the name suggests, a gaze-based cursor can be considered a laser strapped to the user’s head, extending into the 3D scene. If the user stares at an entity long enough (e.g., the fuseTimeout), then the cursor will trigger a click.

Fuse-based interactions benefit VR because they don’t necessitate additional input devices beyond the headset. These interactions can be used by Google Cardboard applications and employ a fuse-based cursor. Nevertheless, one drawback is that users need to move their heads around quite a bit.

Example

We’ll use the example in the previous lesson, where we interacted with the sphere to activate the spotlight on the car. To understand gaze-based interaction, we run the following experience’s URL in any device’s browser that supports the WebXR experience: