Study of Social Presence While Interacting in Metaverse with an Augmented Avatar during Autonomous Driving
In this paper, we studied the effects of using Microsoft HoloLens 2 in a Metaverse-based collaborative mixed reality environment on the driver’s social presence while using an autonomous driving system. In (semi-) autonomous vehicles the driver is the system’s monitor, and the driving process become...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/22/11804 |
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| author | Gheorghe Daniel Voinea Florin Gîrbacia Cristian Cezar Postelnicu Mihai Duguleana Csaba Antonya Adrian Soica Ruxandra-Cristina Stănescu |
| author_facet | Gheorghe Daniel Voinea Florin Gîrbacia Cristian Cezar Postelnicu Mihai Duguleana Csaba Antonya Adrian Soica Ruxandra-Cristina Stănescu |
| author_sort | Gheorghe Daniel Voinea |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this paper, we studied the effects of using Microsoft HoloLens 2 in a Metaverse-based collaborative mixed reality environment on the driver’s social presence while using an autonomous driving system. In (semi-) autonomous vehicles the driver is the system’s monitor, and the driving process becomes a secondary task. Our approach is motivated by the advent of Microsoft Mesh XR technology that enables immersion in multi-person, shared mixed reality environments. We conducted a user study comparing the effects on social presence in two scenarios: baseline and mixed reality collaboration. During the baseline condition, participants communicated and interacted with another person using Skype/Meet which was installed on a mobile tablet. In the second scenario the participants used the Microsoft Mesh application installed on HoloLens 2 to collaborate in a mixed reality environment where each user is represented by an augmented 3D avatar. During the experiment, the participant had to perform a social interaction tell-a-lie task and a remote collaborative tic-tac-toe game, while also monitoring the vehicle’s behavior. The social presence was measured using the Harms and Biocca questionnaire, one of the most widely used tools for evaluating the user’s experience. We found that there are significant statistical differences for Co-presence, Perceived Emotional Interdependence, and Perceived Behavioral Interdependence, and participants were able to easily interact with the avatar in the mixed reality scenario. The proposed study procedure could be taken further to assess the driver’s performance during handover procedures, especially when the autonomous driving system encounters a critical situation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:29:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f9542e08524849939b27759c5817ae2c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:29:52Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-f9542e08524849939b27759c5817ae2c2023-11-24T07:41:12ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172022-11-0112221180410.3390/app122211804Study of Social Presence While Interacting in Metaverse with an Augmented Avatar during Autonomous DrivingGheorghe Daniel Voinea0Florin Gîrbacia1Cristian Cezar Postelnicu2Mihai Duguleana3Csaba Antonya4Adrian Soica5Ruxandra-Cristina Stănescu6Department of Automotive and Transport Engineering, Transilvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, RomaniaDepartment of Automotive and Transport Engineering, Transilvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, RomaniaDepartment of Automotive and Transport Engineering, Transilvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, RomaniaDepartment of Automotive and Transport Engineering, Transilvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, RomaniaDepartment of Automotive and Transport Engineering, Transilvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, RomaniaDepartment of Automotive and Transport Engineering, Transilvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, RomaniaDepartment of Automotive and Transport Engineering, Transilvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, RomaniaIn this paper, we studied the effects of using Microsoft HoloLens 2 in a Metaverse-based collaborative mixed reality environment on the driver’s social presence while using an autonomous driving system. In (semi-) autonomous vehicles the driver is the system’s monitor, and the driving process becomes a secondary task. Our approach is motivated by the advent of Microsoft Mesh XR technology that enables immersion in multi-person, shared mixed reality environments. We conducted a user study comparing the effects on social presence in two scenarios: baseline and mixed reality collaboration. During the baseline condition, participants communicated and interacted with another person using Skype/Meet which was installed on a mobile tablet. In the second scenario the participants used the Microsoft Mesh application installed on HoloLens 2 to collaborate in a mixed reality environment where each user is represented by an augmented 3D avatar. During the experiment, the participant had to perform a social interaction tell-a-lie task and a remote collaborative tic-tac-toe game, while also monitoring the vehicle’s behavior. The social presence was measured using the Harms and Biocca questionnaire, one of the most widely used tools for evaluating the user’s experience. We found that there are significant statistical differences for Co-presence, Perceived Emotional Interdependence, and Perceived Behavioral Interdependence, and participants were able to easily interact with the avatar in the mixed reality scenario. The proposed study procedure could be taken further to assess the driver’s performance during handover procedures, especially when the autonomous driving system encounters a critical situation.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/22/11804social presenceHoloLens 2driver immersionmixed realityhuman computer interactionMetaverse |
| spellingShingle | Gheorghe Daniel Voinea Florin Gîrbacia Cristian Cezar Postelnicu Mihai Duguleana Csaba Antonya Adrian Soica Ruxandra-Cristina Stănescu Study of Social Presence While Interacting in Metaverse with an Augmented Avatar during Autonomous Driving Applied Sciences social presence HoloLens 2 driver immersion mixed reality human computer interaction Metaverse |
| title | Study of Social Presence While Interacting in Metaverse with an Augmented Avatar during Autonomous Driving |
| title_full | Study of Social Presence While Interacting in Metaverse with an Augmented Avatar during Autonomous Driving |
| title_fullStr | Study of Social Presence While Interacting in Metaverse with an Augmented Avatar during Autonomous Driving |
| title_full_unstemmed | Study of Social Presence While Interacting in Metaverse with an Augmented Avatar during Autonomous Driving |
| title_short | Study of Social Presence While Interacting in Metaverse with an Augmented Avatar during Autonomous Driving |
| title_sort | study of social presence while interacting in metaverse with an augmented avatar during autonomous driving |
| topic | social presence HoloLens 2 driver immersion mixed reality human computer interaction Metaverse |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/22/11804 |
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