SPARC: Shared Perspective with Avatar Distortion for Remote Collaboration in VR

TL;DR

SPARC introduces a novel multi-user VR collaboration method that enhances communication and efficiency by combining shared perspective with avatar distortion, reducing occlusions and mental load.

Contribution

The paper presents a new shared perspective approach in VR where avatars are not co-located, improving communication and reducing discomfort in multi-user collaboration.

Findings

SPARC improves task efficiency in VR collaboration.

Participants found SPARC less mentally demanding.

The approach enhances workspace awareness.

Abstract

Telepresence VR systems allow for face-to-face communication, promoting the feeling of presence and understanding of nonverbal cues. However, when discussing virtual 3D objects, limitations to presence and communication cause deictic gestures to lose meaning due to disparities in orientation. Current approaches use shared perspective, and avatar overlap to restore these references, which cause occlusions and discomfort that worsen when multiple users participate. We introduce a new approach to shared perspective in multi-user collaboration where the avatars are not co-located. Each person sees the others' avatars at their positions around the workspace while having a first-person view of the workspace. Whenever a user manipulates an object, others will see his/her arms stretching to reach that object in their perspective. SPARC combines a shared orientation and supports nonverbal communication, minimizing occlusions. We conducted a user study (n=18) to understand how the novel approach impacts task performance and workspace awareness. We found evidence that SPARC is more efficient and less mentally demanding than life-like settings.