Studying collaborative interactions with physical props in extended reality

People in VR can see each other and see the same virtual objects, but the feeling of touch is usually weak or missing. It is not realistic to give everyone a full set of physical replicas for every virtual item they use. Instead, this project will explore how one or two simple physical objects can be reused in clever ways so they feel like many different virtual tools or parts. We will create a shared virtual space where two people, each in their own room with a VR headset, collaborate on tasks such as moving, aligning, or inspecting virtual objects. Both will hold only a small number of physical objects, but in VR, they will experience them as several different items that can be passed or shared. We will test various techniques to make this illusion feel natural and convincing, and then conduct a study to assess how well people can cooperate and when the illusion fails. The final goal is to offer clear, practical recommendations to help future VR tools make remote collaboration feel more physical, shared, and affordable.

Faculty Supervisor:

Robert Teather

Student:

Partner:

Monash University (Clayton, Australia)

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

Education

University:

Carleton University

Program: