A User Study on MR Remote Collaboration Using Live 360 Video

Sharing and watching live 360 panorama video is available on modern social networking platforms, yet the communication is often a passive one-directional experience. This research investigates how to further improve live 360 panorama based remote collaborative experiences by adding Mixed Reality (MR) cues. SharedSphere is a wearable MR remote collaboration system that enriches a live captured immersive panorama based collaboration through MR visualisation of non-verbal communication cues (e.g., view awareness and gestures cues). We describe the design and implementation details of the prototype system, and report on a user study investigating how MR live panorama sharing affects the user's collaborative experience. The results showed that providing view independence through sharing live panorama enhances co-presence in collaboration, and the MR cues help users understanding each other. Based on the study results we discuss design implications and future research direction.