Interaction between Users of Immersion Projection Technology Systems

Participants using immersive projection technology (IPT) systems tend to behave as if they were really in the space depicted by the displays. This behavioral presence leads them to adopt responses and strategies to events and situations that are similar to what they would adopt in analogous real-world situations. In this paper we discuss what happens when IPT systems are used for tele-collaboration, and each participant sees a virtual environment (VE) that includes representation of another (an avatar). In these situations we see the participants respond to that avatar as if it were the other person. We analyze several recent experiments using IPTs where participants represented to each other using avatars complete tasks together. On one hand, because these are IPT systems, a participant can not see their own avatar, and doesn't know what, if any, of their appearance and behavior is conveyed. On the other hand, they can see the appearance and behaviors of other participants’ avatars. We explore participants' awareness of each other through their avatars, and we demonstrate how participants successfully and unsuccessfully use their own avatar to communicate. We then analyze some of the more complex collaborative situations that are being supported in current applications and show what requirements there are for future research on avatar representations and interaction.