Design for immersive XR

Resources and guidance for immersive extended reality (XR) devices

Overview · Interaction · Layout · Accessibility

XR interactions should be flexible, comfortable, and intuitive. People expect to interact with digital objects just like they do with physical ones.

A person should be able to switch between hands, eyes, voice, or controllers depending on their posture and preference

Natural interactions

Natural interactions like gestures allow people to navigate, select, and move content using their hands. Gestures should be:

• Easy to learn
• Follow familiar patterns, such as press, pinch, and swipe on mobile
• Comfortable to use repeatedly


Support one-handed interactions for essential actions. Don’t require large, repetitive arm movements, as they can cause fatigue.


More on Android XR gestures

A person can select items by pinching with the index finger and thumb

System navigation

People should be able to open a navigation menu anywhere, anytime.



On Android XR, the system-level navigation menu includes:

• Go back: Operates the same as the back gesture on Android phones
• Launcher: Goes to the home screen
• Recents: People can open, close, and switch apps

A navigation menu should always be available using a simple gesture, so people don’t get lost

Multimodal inputs

XR apps should support flexible, multimodal inputs, such as hand and eye tracking, voice, keyboard and mouse, and controllers.



More on Android XR multimodal inputs

Hand & eye tracking

Tracking allows people to interact with the virtual world without a controller.


Hand tracking

• Direct: People can touch, grab, or push virtual objects in arm's reach
• Ray-based: A ray, like a laser pointer, extends from the hand to target distant items, then a pinch selects it

Eye tracking

• Enables gaze and dwell interactions
• Looking at an object triggers a hover state

Distant elements can be moved using hand and eye tracking

Voice, keyboard, mouse, & controller inputs

XR apps should also support voice and physical inputs including:

• Voice for hands-free text entry on virtual keyboards
• Voice commands for common actions like Open Settings or Go back
• Mouse & keyboard inputs for precision and text-heavy workflows
• Six degrees of freedom (6DoF) controllers for gaming or complex 3D manipulation

Motion

In XR, motion sickness can happen when visual cues disconnect from the inner ear's sense of balance.

To keep people comfortable:

• Use standard easing and long duration motion tokens
• Maintain a stable horizon line
• Limit continuous motion. To switch locations, use teleportation or instant jump instead.
• Use tunnel vision or vignetting to reduce the field of view while in motion

Caution

Limit use of continuous motion. If required, keep the horizon line stable.

Feedback

Since virtual objects lack physical resistance, use visual, audio, and sensory feedback to confirm interactions.

Visual cues

Use hover icons, focus indicators, ripples, text labels, and elevation changes to show an object’s interaction state.



To indicate an item is targeted, use spatial elevation or a highlight state.

Use visual clues to show when a spatial element is hovered, focused, or selected

Spatial audio

Sound emitters can be positioned in 3D space and provide audio confirmation of an action. For example, add a click sound when a button is pressed.

Spatial audio can help signify where a person should look or that an action was taken

Haptics

For controllers, allow people to turn vibration on or off to simulate the feel of touching or grabbing an object.