The EnCoDe Research lab had a full paper accepted to CHI 2026 “If you are a Star Wars fan, use the force”: Exploring Children’s Virtual-Object Interaction Preferences in AR Headsets! Alejandro and Mehedi traveled to Barcelona from April 11 – April 18 2026 to present our paper at the conference. Check out the paper!

Abstract: Children are increasingly using augmented reality (AR) headsets
in different contexts, such as education. However, it is unclear
how children expect to interact with virtual objects in AR headsets;
children’s expectations for technology can significantly differ
from adults. Therefore, we conducted an elicitation study with 20
children (ages 9-12), in which children proposed interactions for
tasks with a virtual cube (e.g., moving, expanding, creating, etc.) in
an AR headset. We constructed a conceptual model of children’s
expectations with virtual-object interactions in AR headsets and
analyzed their proposed interactions. We found that children preferred
gestures, expecting to utilize their whole body (e.g., pushing,
kicking) and external objects (e.g., hammer, sword) to interact with
the cube, and rarely considered speech, which differs from adults.
Children also frequently added their own motivations, creating a
narrative behind their interactions. We provide foundational insights
into children’s expectations for virtual-object interaction in
AR headsets.