A Composite Framework of Co-located Asymmetric Virtual Reality

Video

DOI

As the variety of possible interactions with virtual reality (VR) continues to expand, researchers need a way to relate these interactions to users’ needs and goals in ways that advance understanding. Several researchers have called for better attention to mixed reality and co-located interactions, but these efforts have largely focused on the symmetric use of technology, which excludes a rising form of interaction known as asymmetric VR, in which participants use different interfaces to interact with a shared environment. Currently, there is not a systematic way to characterize 1) the ways in which a system may be asymmetric, 2) how the different mediation technology and affordances within asymmetric VR support (or do not support) users’ goals, and 3) the relationships and collaborative capabilities between users of these different technologies. In this paper, the authors review the most-relevant existing frameworks for asymmetric interaction, mediation technology, and computer supported cooperative work to categorize types of asymmetric VR along three Axes of Asymmetry and present the Composite framework for Asymmetric VR (CAVR). The paper concludes with suggestions of ways to test and expand the framework in order to guide future research as it identifies the most-beneficial interaction paradigms for asymmetric VR.