Digital Proxemics as Measures of Social Interaction in Hybrid XR

Paper Title

Digital Proxemics as Measures of Social Interaction in Hybrid XR

Publication Info

• Topic area: Proxemic behaviors in hybrid XR environments and their comparison to physical and virtual contexts.
• Keywords: Proxemics, XR, hybrid meetings, social interaction, dyads, triads, virtual environments, dataset, eXtended-Reality, interpersonal distance.

Background and Problem

• Problem / challenge: Hybrid meetings often disrupt social cues and create unequal opportunities for interaction. Current understanding of proxemics in hybrid XR settings is limited, especially in small group dynamics.
• Significance: Understanding proxemics in hybrid XR environments can help improve communication and collaboration in increasingly common hybrid settings.
• Motivation and related work: Prior research has explored proxemics in physical and virtual environments but lacks detailed analysis of hybrid XR contexts. Studies on dyads and triads have not addressed interactions in mixed co-located and remote settings.

Solution

• Proposed approach: A controlled study investigating proxemic behaviors in dyads and triads across face-to-face, co-located XR, hybrid XR, and remote XR conditions.
• Novelty:
  1. Creation of a novel dataset comparing proxemics across physical and XR environments.
  2. Statistical analysis demonstrating stability of proxemic behaviors across conditions.
  3. Introduction of hybrid XR as a new experimental condition.
• Procedure and key techniques:
  • Participants (N=24) engaged in dyadic and triadic tasks under four conditions: face-to-face, co-located XR, hybrid XR, and remote XR.
  • Data collected included positional and rotational metrics, processed into a dataset of 2.3 million rows.
  • Tasks included introductions with handshakes (dyads) and collaborative "Worst Meal" design (triads).
  • Statistical analysis using Chi-squared tests and contingency tables to evaluate proxemic zones.

Results

• Concrete findings:
  • Proxemic behaviors were stable across face-to-face, co-located XR, hybrid XR, and remote XR conditions.
  • Triads exhibited consistent proxemic distances across conditions with very small effect sizes.
  • Dyads maintained proxemic zones during introductions, including close salutation handshakes, with small effect sizes between conditions.
• Advantage over baselines:
  • Demonstrated that proxemic stability persists in hybrid XR environments, bridging gaps in prior research focused solely on physical or fully virtual contexts.
• Experiments / evaluation:
  • Study conducted in a purpose-built XR lab with matched physical and virtual environments.
  • Data collected via Meta Quest Pro headsets and Project Aria devices, resampled to 30 FPS.
  • Statistical analysis confirmed proxemic stability using time series data and contingency tables.
• Limitations and future work:
  • Focused on small groups (dyads and triads); results may not generalize to larger groups.
  • Future research needed on proxemics in asymmetric hybrid environments with heterogeneous embodiment.

Summary

This study investigates proxemic behaviors in dyads and triads across face-to-face, co-located XR, hybrid XR, and remote XR conditions, demonstrating stability of interpersonal distances across these contexts. A novel dataset of 2.3 million rows supports detailed analysis of small group interactions, providing a foundation for future research in hybrid XR environments. Findings highlight the potential for XR to create uniform social experiences while raising questions about proxemics in larger groups and asymmetric hybrid settings. The open dataset enables secondary analysis, promoting replicable and comparative studies in social XR.