Effects of Limited Field of View on Musical Collaboration Experience with Avatars in Extended Reality

TL;DR

This study examines how limited field of view in extended reality affects musical collaboration, highlighting the importance of visual cues and exploring solutions like notification systems to mitigate FOV limitations.

Contribution

The paper introduces a comparative study of FOV effects on musical collaboration in XR, proposing notification systems to improve interaction under limited FOV conditions.

Findings

Limited FOV reduces co-presence and gesture recognition.

Notification systems like Mini Musicians improve reaction time.

HoloJam enhances overall collaboration experience.

Abstract

During musical collaboration, visual cues are essential for communication between musicians. Extended Reality (XR) applications, often used with head-mounted displays like Augmented Reality (AR) glasses, can limit the field of view (FOV) of players. We conducted a study to investigate the effects of limited FOV on co-presence, gesture recognition, overall enjoyment, and reaction time. Initially, we observed experienced musicians collaborating informally with and without visual occlusion, noting that collaboration suffered with limited FOV. We then conducted a within-subjects study with 19 participants, comparing an unrestricted FOV holographic setup called HoloJam to Nreal AR glasses with a 52$^{\circ}$ limited FOV. In the AR setup, we tested two conditions: standard AR with a 52$^{\circ}$ FOV and a modified AR notification system called Mini Musicians. Results showed that HoloJam provided higher co-presence, quicker gesture recognition, and greater enjoyment. The Mini Musicians application reduced reaction time and maintained enjoyment compared to the standard AR setup. We conclude that limited FOV impacts musical collaboration, but notifications can improve reaction time and should be considered in future XR music collaborations.