Systems and methods for gaze-informed target manipulation

1. A method for improving user interaction with a virtual environment, the method comprising:

measuring a first position of a user's gaze relative to a virtual element;

selecting the virtual element in the virtual environment at an origin when the user's gaze overlaps the virtual element;

measuring a second position of a user's gaze relative to the virtual element;

presenting a visual placeholder at a destination based on a second position of the user's gaze when the second position of the user's gaze is beyond a threshold distance from the origin; and

moving the visual placeholder relative to the destination using a secondary input device.

2. The method of claim 1 , measuring a first position of the user's gaze including using a head-mounted display.

3. The method of claim 1 , the visual placeholder being a copy of the virtual element.

4. The method of claim 1 , moving the visual placeholder including recognizing a gesture input from a user.

5. The method of claim 1 , the threshold distance being at least 1°.

6. The method of claim 1 , selecting a virtual element including recognizing a gesture input from a user.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising moving the virtual element to the visual placeholder upon deselecting the virtual element.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising fixing the destination after beginning moving the visual placeholder relative to the second position of the user's gaze with a secondary input device.

9. A system for presenting visual information to a user, the system comprising:

a head-mounted display, the head-mounted display including:

a display device,

a gaze-tracking device,

a processor in data communication with the display device and the gaze-tracking device, and

a hardware storage device in data communication with the processor, the hardware storage device having instructions thereon that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

measure a first position of a user's gaze relative to a virtual element,

select the virtual element in the virtual environment at an origin when the user's gaze overlaps the virtual element,

measure a second position of a user's gaze relative to the virtual element,

present a visual placeholder at a destination based on the second position of the user's gaze when the second position of the user's gaze is beyond a threshold distance from the origin, and

move the visual placeholder relative to the destination with a secondary input device.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the user's gaze includes a focal depth.

11. The system of claim 9 , further comprising a waveguide in communication with the display device, where the virtual element is presented on the waveguide.

12. The system of claim 9 , the gaze-tracking device including a plurality of cameras to track a user's eyes.