Hybridity in immersive technologies has not been studied for factors that are likely to influence engagement. A noticeable factor is the spatial enclosure that defines where users meet. This involves a mutual object of interest, contents that the users may generate around the object, and the proximity between users. This study examines these factors, namely how object interactivity, user-generated contents (UGC) and avatar proximity influence engagement. We designed a Hybrid Virtual and Augmented Reality (HVAR) environment that supports paired users to experience cultural heritage in both Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). A user study was conducted with 60 participants, providing assessments of engagement and presence via questionnaires, together with mobile electroencephalogram (mEEG) and user activity data that measures VR user engagement in real-time. Our findings provide insights into how engagement between users can occur in HVAR environments for the future hybrid reality with multi-device connectivity.
Acoustic noise control or cancellation (ANC) is a commonplace component of modern audio headphones. ANC aims to actively mitigate disturbing environmental noise for a quieter and improved listening experience. ANC is digitally controlling frequency and amplitude characteristics of sound. Much less explored is visual noise and active visual noise control, which we address here. We first explore visual noise and scenarios in which visual noise arises based on findings from four workshops we conducted. We then introduce the concept of visual noise cancellation (VNC) and how it can be used to reduce identified effects of visual noise. In addition, we developed head-worn demonstration prototypes to practically explore the concept of active VNC with selected scenarios in a user study. Finally, we discuss the application of VNC, including vision augmentations that moderate the user's view of the environment to address perceptual needs and to provide augmented reality content.
Lack of interfaith communication often gives rise to prejudice and group-based conflict in multi-faith societies. Nurturing this communication via interfaith learning may reduce this conflict by fostering interfaith empathy. HCI has a dearth of knowledge on interfaith coexistence and empathy building. To address this gap, we present the design, implementation, and usability of \textit{Cohabitant}: a virtual reality (VR) application that promotes interfaith learning and empathy. \textit{Cohabitant}'s design is theoretically underpinned by Allport's intergroup contact theory and informed by insights from a participatory workshop we ran with members of three religious groups: Christians, Hindus, and Muslims. Our evaluation study, combining quantitative and qualitative data from 30 participants, suggests that \textit{Cohabitant} may enhance general interpersonal empathy, but falls short for ethnocultural empathy. We discuss the possible design and policy implications of using this kind of VR technology for interfaith learning and empathy building.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642821
For individuals with Social Anxiety (SA), interacting with others can be a challenging experience, a concern that extends into the virtual world. While technology has made significant strides in creating more realistic virtual human agents (VHA), the interplay of gaze and interpersonal distance when interacting with VHAs is often neglected. This paper investigates the effect of dynamic and static Gaze animations in VHAs on interpersonal distance and their relation to SA. A Bayesian analysis shows that static centered and dynamic centering gaze led participants to stand closer to VHAs than static averted and dynamic averting gaze, respectively. In the static gaze conditions, this pattern was found to be reversed in SA: participants with higher SA kept larger distances for static-centered gaze than for averted gaze VHAs. These findings update theory, elucidate how nuanced interactions with VHAs must be designed, and offer renewed guidelines for pleasant VHA interaction design.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642359