  Virtual Reality enables the exploration of large information spaces. In
physically constrained spaces such as airplanes or buses, controller-based or
mid-air interaction in mobile Virtual Reality can be challenging. Instead, the
input space on and above touch-screen enabled devices such as smartphones or
tablets could be employed for Virtual Reality interaction in those spaces.
  In this context, we compared an above surface interaction technique with
traditional 2D on-surface input for navigating large planar information spaces
such as maps in a controlled user study (n = 20). We find that our proposed
above surface interaction technique results in significantly better performance
and user preference compared to pinch-to-zoom and drag-to-pan when navigating
planar information spaces.
