A Human-Centered Framework for Scalable Extended Reality Spaces

Abstract

Mixed and Virtual Reality technologies have been assigned considerable potential to support training and workflows in various domains. However, available solutions are subject to scalability limitations which evoke temporal and cognitive efforts that outweigh the technology’s intrinsic potential and prevent their application in profit-making, real-world settings. Addressing these issues, we developed a framework for Scalable Extended Reality (XRS) spaces following a human-centered design process. To this end, we derived abstract high-level use cases which exploit key benefits of Mixed and Virtual Reality technologies and can be combined with each other to describe specific low-level use cases in many domains. Based on the defined high-level use cases, i.e., design and development of physical items, training, teleoperation, co-located and distributed collaboration, we specified functional and non-functional requirements and developed a framework design solution that implements multidimensional scalability enhancements: Multiple on-site and off-site users can access the XRS space through customized Mixed or Virtual Reality interfaces and then reference or manipulate real or virtual scene components. Thereby, full scalability regarding options of interaction is provided through the integration of a robotic system that allows off-site users to manipulate real scene components on site. Eventually, the framework’s applicability to different use cases is demonstrated in theoretical walkthroughs.