Spatial conferencing using a wearable computer

Abstract

Wearable computers provide constant access to computing and communications resources; however, there are many unanswered questions as to how this computing power can be used to enhance communication. We describe a wearable augmented reality communication space that uses spatialised 3D graphics and audio cues to aid communication. The user is surrounded by virtual avatars of the remote collaborators that they can interact with using natural head and body motions. The use of spatial cues means that the conferencing space can potentially support dozens of simultaneous users. We report on two experiraents that show users can understand speakers better with spatial rather than non-spatial audio, and that minimal visual cues may be sufficient to distinguish between speakers. Additional informal user studies with real conference participants suggest that wearable communication spaces may offer significant advantages over traditional communication devices.

Guest editorial: Handheld CSCW: Personal technologies for collaboration

“…For example, Siegel and Hyder [39] contribute a research agenda addressing usability issues still to be resolved, derived from empirical research at CMU on use of handheld and wearable computer systems to support field workers. Billinghurst et al [40] report on two experiments that show that spatial audio can give significant performance benefits for teleconferencing with wearable computers [40]. Inkpen [41] addresses design of handheld technologies for children, reporting on a participatory design activity.…”

Non-visual interfaces for wearable computers

“…This architecture provides a rich space in which to display different kinds of information [3,7] simultaneously. For example, users might have an MP3 file playing in the space behind them, some sonified stock market data on the right (perhaps the user is listening to tell when the values of shares are changing rapidly to know when to buy or sell), there might be a news article about the stocks on the left of the audio space.…”

“…Three-dimensional sound has been shown to have many benefits for presenting multiple streams of sound for teleconferencing etc. [3].…”