{
  "abstract": "Point-cloud representations of 3D data are used in many fields, from astronomical surveys of galaxies to medical imaging and laser scans of buildings. A task common to all of these is interactive selection: picking out a meaningful subset of points for closer analysis. The data is inherently 3D, yet the traditional workflow uses a 2D mouse on a 2D projection and inherits the limitations of a flat screen. This paper compares Virtual Reality (VR) and desktop environments for 3D particle selection, asking whether VR's six-degree-of-freedom hand interaction yields measurable gains in accuracy, speed, usability, workload and flow. In a counterbalanced within-subjects experiment (N = 34), participants selected 90 target galaxies from a catalogue of 16,816 galaxies, using mouse-driven selection with keyboard camera control on the desktop and a hand-held spherical brush that adds or removes particles in VR. We measured task accuracy, completion time, and three standard questionnaires: the System Usability Scale (SUS), the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) and the Flow State Scale (FSS). Accuracy was comparable (91.6% VR vs. 93.1% desktop; p = 0.858), but every other measure favoured VR. Tasks were 23% faster (p = 0.001, d = 0.93), usability was higher (SUS 84.6 vs. 54.0; d = -1.78), workload was lower (NASA-TLX 20.4 vs. 34.7; d = 0.90), and flow was higher (FSS 83.2 vs. 70.2; d = -1.23). Because the underlying problem, making a 3D selection through a 2D interface, is not specific to astronomy, we expect the pattern to carry over to point-cloud selection in other fields.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.17094",
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Boaz Keren-Gil"
    },
    {
      "name": "James Gain"
    },
    {
      "name": "Lucia Marchetti"
    },
    {
      "name": "Patrick Marais"
    },
    {
      "name": "Alexander Sivitilli"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8v83sw294bh91.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.17094",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "8v83sw294bh91",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.17094",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.IM"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cs.HC"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1709|Interactive and Immersive Displays"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221788045",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.17094",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-12",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8v83sw294bh91.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:29:06Z",
      "native_id": "2610.17094",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.17094"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.IM",
      "subfield": "instrumentation-methods"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Particle Selection in Virtual Reality",
  "title_text": "Particle Selection in Virtual Reality",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:29:06Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8v83sw294bh91",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}