Raycasting

A ray projected from the user intersects a target for fast distal selection.

How it works

Point a virtual ray at an object and confirm with a button, pinch, or dwell.

Papers

Mine, M (1995). Virtual environment interaction techniques. UNC Chapel Hill Computer Science Technical Report TR95-018 link
Ferran Argelaguet, Carlos Andujar (2013). A survey of 3D object selection techniques for virtual environments. Computers & Graphics doi:10.1016/j.cag.2012.12.003
Adriel Yeo, Benjamin W. J. Kwok, Angelene Joshna, Kan Chen, Jeannie S. A. Lee (2024). Entering the Next Dimension: A Review of 3D User Interfaces for Virtual Reality. Electronics doi:10.3390/electronics13030600
Difeng Yu, Tilman Dingler, Eduardo Velloso, Jorge Goncalves (2024). Object Selection and Manipulation in VR Headsets: Research Challenges, Solutions, and Success Measurements. ACM Computing Surveys doi:10.1145/3706417
Jaemoon Jung, Hanjun Park, Dongwook Hwang, Minseok Son, Donghyun Beck, Juhee Park, Woojin Park (2014). A Review on Interaction Techniques in Virtual Environments. Proceedings of the 2014 International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management link
Susu Huang, Daqing Qi, Jiabin Yuan, Huawei Tu (2019). Review of studies on target acquisition in virtual reality based on the crossing paradigm. Virtual Reality & Intelligent Hardware doi:10.3724/sp.j.2096-5796.2019.0006
Jan Leusmann (2021). A Literature Review on Distant Object Selection Methods. Master's thesis, University of Stuttgart doi:10.18419/opus-12060
Matthias Weise, Raphael Zender, Ulrike Lucke (2019). A Comprehensive Classification of 3D Selection and Manipulation Techniques. Proceedings of Mensch und Computer 2019 doi:10.1145/3340764.3340777
Rumeysa Turkmen, Zahra Rasoulifar, Anil Ufuk Batmaz (2026). VoiceRay: 3D Object Selection Technique for Occluded and Dense Environments in Virtual Reality. CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26) doi:10.1145/3772318.3790399
Douglas A. Bowman (1999). Interaction Techniques for Common Tasks in Immersive Virtual Environments: Design, Evaluation, and Application. PhD thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology link
Dongyun Han, Donghoon Kim, Garrett Woodhouse, Isaac Cho (2026). Beyond Arm's Reach: Revisiting 3D Interaction Techniques for Virtual Display Management in Immersive Workspaces. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics (early access) doi:10.1109/TVCG.2026.3734382
Ruijia Chen, Tianyi Zhang, Sanbrita Mondal, Yukang Yan, Yuhang Zhao (2026). Head, Gaze, or Finger? Comparing Object Selection Techniques in Augmented Reality for People with Low Vision. arXiv preprint 2607.06778 doi:10.48550/arXiv.2607.06778
Eduardo Velloso, Jayson Turner, Jason Alexander, Andreas Bulling, Hans Gellersen (2015). An Empirical Investigation of Gaze Selection in Mid-Air Gestural 3D Manipulation. Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2015, LNCS 9297, pp. 315–330 doi:10.1007/978-3-319-22668-2_25
Rorik Henrikson, Tovi Grossman, Sean Trowbridge, Daniel Wigdor, Hrvoje Benko (2020). Head-Coupled Kinematic Template Matching: A Prediction Model for Ray Pointing in VR. Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '20) doi:10.1145/3313831.3376489
Dennis Wolf, Jan Gugenheimer, Marco Combosch, Enrico Rukzio (2020). Understanding the Heisenberg Effect of Spatial Interaction: A Selection Induced Error for Spatially Tracked Input Devices. Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '20) doi:10.1145/3313831.3376876
Woojoo Kim, Shuping Xiong (2022). ViewfinderVR: configurable viewfinder for selection of distant objects in VR. Virtual Reality 26, 1573-1592 doi:10.1007/s10055-022-00649-z
Xiang Li, Per Ola Kristensson (2025). Bend It, Aim It, Tap It: Designing an On-Body Disambiguation Mechanism for Curve Selection in Mixed Reality. SUI '25 doi:10.1145/3694907.3765912
Huiyue Wu, Xiaoxuan Sun, Huawei Tu, Xiaolong Zhang (2024). ClockRay: A Wrist-Rotation Based Technique for Occluded-Target Selection in Virtual Reality. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics 30(7), 3767-3778 doi:10.1109/TVCG.2023.3239951
Elena Molina, Pere-Pau Vázquez (2023). Two-step techniques for accurate selection of small elements in VR environments. Graphical Models 128, 101183 doi:10.1016/j.gmod.2023.101183
John F. Lucas (2005). Design and evaluation of 3D multiple object selection techniques. Master's thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University link
Jibin Yin, Chengyao Fu, Xiangliang Zhang, Tao Liu (2019). Precise Target Selection Techniques in Handheld Augmented Reality Interfaces. IEEE Access 7, 17663-17674 doi:10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2895219
Lucas Joos, Uzay Durdu, Jonathan Wieland, Harald Reiterer, Daniel A. Keim, Johannes Fuchs, Maximilian T. Fischer (2024). Evaluating Node Selection Techniques for Network Visualizations in Virtual Reality. ACM Symposium on Spatial User Interaction (SUI '24) doi:10.1145/3677386.3682102
Adrien Chaffangeon Caillet, Alix Goguey, Laurence Nigay (2023). 3D Selection in Mixed Reality: Designing a Two-Phase Technique To Reduce Fatigue. IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR) doi:10.1109/ISMAR59233.2023.00095
Kaiqi Chen, Huagen Wan, Shengdong Zhao, Xutao Liu (2023). BackTracer: Improving ray-casting 3D target acquisition by backtracking the interaction history. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 176, 103045 doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2023.103045
Shimmila Bhowmick, Nilotpal Biswas, Pratul Chandra Kalita, Keyur Sorathia (2023). Wow! I Have Tiny Hands: Design And Evaluation Of Adaptive Virtual Hands For Small Object Selection Within Arms Length In Dense Virtual Environment. Extended Abstracts of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA '23) doi:10.1145/3544549.3585686
Henrique G. Debarba, Jerônimo G. Grandi, Anderson Maciel, Luciana Nedel, Ronan Boulic (2013). Disambiguation Canvas: A Precise Selection Technique for Virtual Environments. Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2013, LNCS 8119, 388-405 doi:10.1007/978-3-642-40477-1_24
René Weller, Waldemar Wegele, Christoph Schröder, Gabriel Zachmann (2021). LenSelect: Object Selection in Virtual Environments by Dynamic Object Scaling. Frontiers in Virtual Reality 2, 684677 doi:10.3389/frvir.2021.684677
Sichun Huang, Jian Wu, Runze Fan, Sio Kei Im, Lili Wang (2025). HandBrush for Efficient Object Grouping in Virtual Environment with Bare-Hand. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction 41(15), 9797-9821 doi:10.1080/10447318.2024.2428429
Doug A. Bowman, Ernst Kruijff, Joseph J. LaViola Jr., Ivan Poupyrev (2004). 3D User Interfaces: Theory and Practice. Addison-Wesley, Boston (ISBN 0-201-75867-9)
Yiqin Lu, Chun Yu, Yuanchun Shi (2020). Investigating Bubble Mechanism for Ray-Casting to Improve 3D Target Acquisition in Virtual Reality. 2020 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR) doi:10.1109/vr46266.2020.00021