Shared space: Explorations in collaborative augmented reality.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

We present a series of interfaces that explore how Augmented Reality (AR) technology can be used to enhance face-to-face and remote collaboration. We show that AR interfaces can provide a fundamentally different collaborative experience from traditional interfaces because of their affordances, including: (1) Support of seamless interaction between real and virtual environments; (2) The ability to enhance reality and create interfaces that go “beyond being there”; (3) The presence of spatial cues for face-to-face and remote collaboration; (4) Support of a tangible interface metaphor for object manipulation; (5) The ability to transition smoothly between reality and virtuality.
We present a communication model that can be used to predict how these affordances will affect communication, and then describe results from several experiments. For face-to-face AR collaboration we find that users interact with virtual content using similar communication behaviors as exhibited when interacting with real objects, and significantly different from screen-based collaboration. For remote conferencing we find that AR technology can be used to provide spatial cues that create an increased sense of remote presence, and make it easier to distinguish between speakers.
Augmented Reality can also be used to support new forms of collaboration. The MagicBook is an AR interface that allows users to seamlessly move between reality and virtuality. Using a real book, users can see virtual AR content appearing overlaid on the pages. When they see a scene they are interested in, they can fly inside and experience it as a fully immersive virtual environment. The MagicBook supports collaboration as a shared physical object, an AR scene, and as an immersive virtual space.
Many of the interfaces presented are based on a new design approach, Tangible Augmented Reality, which can be used to develop intuitive AR experiences. Tangible Augmented Reality combines the ease of interaction found in Tangible User Interfaces with the seamless display possibilities of Augmented Reality. In these interfaces, users report that they can interact with AR content as easily as with real objects, and that collaboration is natural. We also provide additional design principles that can be applied to develop effective collaborative AR interfaces.