Virtual reality is ‘mind-blowing’ but even better when shared with other people, researchers find

February 1, 2023February 1, 2023

Early adopters of mass-market virtual reality headsets have used them to showcase art, hold work meetings, record their favorite DJ sets, and perform everything from paintball and dodgeball to escape rooms and obstacle courses. We cooperate by playing various games.of Clemson University computing school.

The researchers’ award-winning study explores how people are collaborating in virtual reality since technological advances and falling prices brought virtual reality to the masses about five years ago. It’s one of the world’s first detailed glimpses of what’s going on.

Guo FreemanAn assistant professor who led the study, the team also found that the way people collaborate in virtual reality is very similar to how they do it face-to-face, she said.

“They really feel like they’re doing something together, which creates a sense of presence and involvement,” says Freeman. “Some say it’s a good alternative if you can’t be offline face-to-face but want the natural feeling of working with others.”

The team based their research on Discord, Skype, and Google Hangouts, conducting voice and text interviews with 30 virtual reality users involved across multiple platforms, including Rec Room, VRChat, and High Fidelity. . The user’s age ranged from 18 to he was 65, and his VR experience ranged from 6 months to 36 months.

Virtual reality typically requires users to wear headsets that allow them to experience unique features such as voice communication, full-body tracking, and 360-degree panoramic views of the virtual world.

The School of Computing study reflects the immersive power of technology and the importance of collaboration to make the most of it. According to the researchers, users described her VR as powerful, impactful, and spectacular, and said they would rather experience it with other participants than alone.

Brian DeanThe acting director of the School of Computing said the study highlights the strength of Clemson’s work in virtual reality.

“As this technology begins to change the way we work, learn and play, researchers at the School of Computing are answering some of virtual reality’s most important social and technical questions.” says Dean. “Congratulations to the team led by Dr. Freeman for helping advance our knowledge on this important topic.”

According to Freeman, the team quickly adopted the technology and found a close-knit virtual reality community that was enthusiastic and keen to recruit new members. She was struck by how creative some users are with technology.

For example, some have created art in virtual reality, while others have created real-world art and built virtual reality galleries to display it.

“I think this has the potential to change the way people make things and share their creativity with others,” Freeman said.

Some virtual reality users told the team that they collaborated on homework with strangers as well as friends. It happened naturally and often, said the user.

As one VR user told the team: […] I was helping some people with math, and someone from Japan helped me with my Japanese. Just go to a world and say, “I want you to help me with my homework.” Some people came to me and helped me. Sometimes I thought, “I knew this person was taking this class.” So i asked them. can you help me They said, ‘Yes! ’ said

The findings were first reported in the ACM Proceedings on Human-Computer Interaction. The team’s paper was titled “Remote collaboration through embodyment: Participating in everyday collaboration in social virtual reality”

Co-author was Freeman. Dane Acena, who was a student at the time and now holds his Master of Science in Computer Science. CECAS Dean Assistant Professor Nathan J. McNeice. and HCC Ph.D. student Kelsey Schulenberg.

This work was recently awarded the Best Paper Honorable Mention Award at the ACM International Conference on Supporting Group Work in January. This puts the paper in the top 5% of the conference.

For Freeman, this was his ninth Best Paper Encouragement Award in four years.

Freeman, who has studied virtual worlds and online games for a decade, said that when social VR first came along, some people saw it as just a game, but it was more than that.

“People always want to connect with other people. It’s just another way for people to build relationships,” Freeman said. I think it’s a great way to introduce social interaction.”