Examining the interaction of different factors on pointing precision when using handheld laser pointers

OBJECTIVE: Laser pointers are common teaching tools used during lessons. The pointing precision may influence the teaching effectiveness. In this study, we examined the effect of four external factors, namely aiming distance, target size, light condition and colour of the laser beam on the pointing precision. RESULTS: Thirty participants (15 males and 15 females; age = 23.2 ± 4.3) were asked to aim at the target black circles with different sizes (diameters = 4 mm, 8 mm, 12 mm and 16 mm) from five various distances (2 m, 4 m, 6 m, 8 m and 10 m) at two brightness conditions (i.e., bright and dark) using two different coloured laser pointers (red and green). Three aiming parameters, namely number of hits, duration per hit and pointing precision were measured. Results showed that the aiming parameters were the highest with the aiming distance of 2 m and the use of green laser pointer towards larger target sizes regardless of the environmental brightness. Among all factors, aiming distance was the most important external factor that could influence pointing precision. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13104-022-05962-z.