ABSTRACT
Children are one of the groups most influenced by COVID-19-related social distancing, and a lack of contact with peers can limit their opportunities to develop social and collaborative skills. However, remote socialization and collaboration as an alternative approach is still a great challenge for children. This paper presents MR.Brick, a Mixed Reality (MR) educational game system that helps children adapt to remote collaboration. A controlled experimental study involving 24 children aged six to ten was conducted to compare MR.Brick with the traditional video game by measuring their social and collaborative skills and analyzing their multi-modal playing behaviours. The results showed that MR.Brick was more conducive to children's remote collaboration experience than the traditional video game. Given the lack of training systems designed for children to collaborate remotely, this study may inspire interaction design and educational research in related fields. © 2023 ACM.
ABSTRACT
During the Covid-19 pandemic, more guidelines were created to teach people how to facilitate meetings online, but few were designed from a cognition-oriented perspective. Additionally, solving complex problems is essential in many occupations. However, the influence of online and face-to-face discussion formats on the performance in complex problem-solving tasks is unclear, even though remote working has become common over the past several few years. Hence, this study aims to answer two research questions: (a) Does problem-solving performance differ between online and face-to-face meetings? and (b) Does facilitation improve problem-solving performance when different formats are used? We conducted experiments with 40 groups using a 2 × 2 factorial design, which were controlled for both facilitation and format. Each group comprised two randomly selected participants, and each problem-solving discussion lasted between 1.5-2 h. The obtained evidence showed that format can influence the performance of balancing intercorrelated factors in a complex scenario, but it does not affect the performance of achieving a predefined goal. Instead, it we found that facilitation is helpful for achieving a predefined goal. Based on the results obtained, we propose future design directions for problem-solving centric computer-supported cooperative work systems from a cognition-oriented perspective. © 2023 Owner/Author.
ABSTRACT
Since 2020, worldwide COVID-19-related lockdowns have led to a rapid increase of remote collaboration, particularly in the domain of knowledge work. This has undoubtedly brought challenges (e.g., work-life boundary management, social isolation), but also opportunities. Practices that have proven successful (e.g., through increased task performance, efficiency or satisfaction) are worth retaining in future. In this qualitative empirical study, we analyzed four teams' (14 participants in total) mandatory remote collaboration over a period of several days to several months during a nationally imposed lockdown. We report results derived from questionnaires, logbooks, group interviews, and meeting recordings. We identify possible factors influencing quality of task outcome as well as subjective aspects like satisfaction, motivation, and team atmosphere. As a basis for our conclusions, we provide a scheme for categorizing effects of remote collaboration based on an exhaustive literature review on pandemic-induced mandatory remote work and collaboration. © 2023 Owner/Author.
ABSTRACT
The sudden shift to remote work offered a unique opportunity to investigate the effect of meeting modality on team decisions. We present data on classroom teams solving a classic team decision task type, the hidden profile, where members each have unique information that must be combined to arrive at the correct solution. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, we collected data on teams solving hidden profiles in-person, over Zoom, and then in-person while wearing face masks. We first demonstrate the efficacy of the decision task, a space-themed hidden profile where team members bring to bear data on exoplanets to choose which of three planets can best support human colonization. Once validated, the task was implemented as part of a team effectiveness course over four years: two years before the COVID-19 pandemic (2018-2020), one year of remote work (2020-2021), and one year of masked in-person work (2021-2022). Students were randomly assigned to teams and roles within each course and deliberated for 30 minutes to choose the best option. Examining the quality of team decisions shows marked differences based on the modality of team deliberations. Teams deliberating in-person had the greatest chance of solving the hidden profile, followed by teams meeting in-person with face masks;teams deliberating over Zoom were least likely to solve the hidden profile. Practical implications of team decision modalities for hybrid work design are discussed.
ABSTRACT
In this fourth industrial revolution of technologies, video conferencing applications are now utilized for online business meetings, online classes, and scientific and experimental purposes engaged in a virtual meeting room due to rigorous cases of coronavirus disease 2019. Several difficulties and technical disruptions were encountered in using the said apps, especially during online classes and business conferences. In connection thereto, this Optimization and Innovative Utilization of Virtual Conferencing Applications dissertation were developed to have a new basis for a technological management approach based on the most commonly used video conferencing applications. The encountered problems, considered factors, and optimization processes were also determined. Descriptive quantitative research was used as methodology, and initial closed-ended questionnaires, evaluation forms with a 4-point Likert scale, interviews, consultations, and testing were the instruments and sources of data. Three hundred one (301) respondents were randomly selected around the Province of Laguna, Philippines, composed of 203 respondents from schools, 78 respondents from companies, and 20 professional evaluators. The developed strategic model was evaluated using 6 out of 8 general characteristics of the ISO/IEC 25010: 2011 system quality model, which includes usability, reliability, performance efficiency, maintainability, compatibility, and security. All data gathered were validated as well as the statistical treatments such as percentage, weighted and composite means, and t-test, which was used to determine the significant difference between the normal and optimized utilization of video conferencing applications. Obtained results revealed that utilizing the developed strategic model was significantly more acceptable and effective rather than the normal utilization of the common apps. The teachers and students and as well as the workers of business enterprises are the beneficiaries of this study to optimize and utilize the said applications for better learning and optimal workflow © 2006-2023 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved
ABSTRACT
The social distancing imposed by Covid-19 impacted the development of educational activities at all levels. Engineering education was specially challenged by the suspension of face-to-face activities, which paused the development of laboratory practices. The present work accounts for the design of virtual learning experiences in a Microcontrollers course. The free online tools 'Tinkercad Circuits' and 'Arduino' were used to simulate circuit programming and connections. These tools also allowed remote collaboration between students and teachers during lockdown. The results of the Mechatronics Engineering students (n=30) show that programming skills and hardware knowledge were developed. Additionally, the activities had a positive response from the students. On the other hand, according to the psychomotor domain taxonomy, the students had obstacles to their full development. It is concluded on the importance of integrating simulation to the development of activities and laboratory practices, as well as the advantages of hybrid teaching formats. © 2023 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
VirtualWorx™ began as a 2015 Raytheon Six Sigma process improvement project to solve challenges faced by customers who were being asked to "do more with less"such that Operations Sustainment (OS) costs became a significant aspect in the planning and awarding of new systems, as well as for upgrades to existing systems. This raised the need to investigate opportunities that reduced OS costs, which spanned the spectrum from technology-enabled maintenance operations to autonomy and analytics. VirtualWorx™ focused on the former and in particular, the process of flying technicians to international field sites to solve challenging troubleshooting and repair issues that were beyond the capabilities of the local maintainers but would have broader implications affecting product maintainability.The opportunity focused on business process improvement through the insertion of technology to better leverage global human resources and extend the significant breadth and depth of engineering expertise from Raytheon Centers of Excellence. This would allow support of deployed systems anywhere in the world through secure two-way audiovideo communication up to and including augmented reality-based interactive remote collaboration. Figure 1 depicts the brainstorming session that resulted in a "back-of-The-napkin"design.The vision was to provide a secure enterprise, technical collaboration solution by implementing augmented reality-based communication capability to improve operational availability (Ao) of a system to perform its mission, reduce overall sustainment costs (including significant reduction in program travel), and provide effective troubleshooting of systems under repair.The proposed strategy prioritized customer driven use cases and network architecture development to:•Establish scalable Outside Contiguous United State (OCONUS) reach-back connectivity for technical support between a remote user and subject matter expert over a secure infrastructure worldwide•Facilitate technical support via a common environment using Augmented Reality (AR) capabilities over existing company network infrastructure•Enable the spectrum of collaboration across the enterprise to reduce staffing costs, leverage technical expertise, and provide improved Efficiency, Effectiveness, Capacity, and Capability (E2C2).With a strong business case, a successful proof-of-concept phase gained support from senior leadership in engineering and digital technology and earned further investment through Raytheon Independent Research and Development (IRAD) funding to move the project forward into a pilot phase for the first use case-remotely supported maintenance.To date, VirtualWorx™ has been successfully piloted and deployed on various internal and customer programs handling a variety of data and communication-rich exchanges that span the entire development life cycle.Underneath the system's hardware and Raytheon Technologies' global network infrastructure, VirtualWorx™ is powered by Librestream's Onsite software platform that provides responsive technical support throughout the product life cycle allowing the emerging workforce to respond in a way employees feel most comfortable-via video.VirtualWorx™ has become a Raytheon Technologies Enterprise solution for end-To-end augmented reality collaboration specifically tailored to support remote maintenance of aerospace and defense repairable assets. The on-premises solution carries export controlled technical data and delivers live reach-back support over an increasing variety of use cases since the initial proof-of-concept-to support maintenance and repair of deployed systems around the world. It streams AR-enhanced live audiovideo between field service engineers, subject matter experts, domestic and international business partners and is accessible anywhere on the company's global network and through virtual private networking (VPN) access from off-site locations.Return on investment (ROI) has been realized from the initial remote maintenance use case to broader applications of the technology to reso ve both internal and external challenges. Many of these recent challenges were especially brought on by recent COVID pandemic conditions that restricted global travel, limited face-To-face communication, and prevented movement of personnel as sites were locked-down due to COVID exposure concerns. © 2023 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
Nowadays, telepresence systems based on the Extended Reality (XR) system are actively developed and used for remote collaboration due to COVID-19. Still, several issues, such as limited traversable space in Virtual Reality (VR) and require all participants to wear head-mounted display (HMD), stop these systems from being used in our daily life. On the other hand, telepresence robots have been used in various fields before the pandemic. However, these robots also have a limitation in that the current form is incapable of delivering non-verbal expressions, which is essential for social interaction. Therefore, we present a Holobot, a telepresence robot based on the XR system. A remote user connects to the Holobot through VR HMDs, and the Holobot augments a virtual avatar that projectsusers' facial and gesture expressions.We developed a prototype and conducted a simple field test in the exhibition to receive feedback. VR participants enjoyed exploring remote spaces and interacting with each other through Holobot. Furthermore, remote space participants mentioned that a 1:1 scale avatar helped to build co-presence with the VR user. Based on these insights, we think Holobot could provide design guideline for future telepresence robot. For further approach, we plan to improve our prototype and conduct user test for structured evaluation of our system. © 2023 IEEE Computer Society. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Over the last several years, remote collaboration has been getting more attention in the research community because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In previous studies, researchers have investigated the effect of adding visual communication cues or shared views in collaboration, but there has not been any previous study exploring the influence between them. In this paper, we investigate the influence of view types on the use of visual communication cues. We compared the use of the three visual cues (hand gesture, a pointer with hand gesture, and sketches with hand gesture) across two view types (dependent and independent views), respectively. We conducted a user study, and the results showed that hand gesture and sketches with the hand gesture cues were well matched with the dependent view condition, and using a pointer with the hand gesture cue was suited to the independent view condition. With the dependent view, the hand gesture and sketch cues required less mental effort for collaborative communication, had better usability, provided better message understanding, and increased feeling of co-presence compared to the independent view. Since the dependent view supported the same viewpoint between the remote expert and a local worker, the local worker could easily understand the remote expert's hand gestures. In contrast, in the independent view case, when they had different viewpoints, it was not easy for the local worker to understand the remote expert's hand gestures. The sketch cue had a benefit of showing the final position and orientation of the manipulating objects with the dependent view, but this benefit was less obvious in the independent view case (which provided a further view compared to the dependent view) because precise drawing in the sketches was difficult from a distance. On the contrary, a pointer with the hand gesture cue required less mental effort to collaborate, had better usability, provided better message understanding, and an increased feeling of co-presence in the independent view condition than in the dependent view condition. The pointer cue could be used instead of a hand gesture in the independent view condition because the pointer could still show precise pointing information regardless of the view type. © 2023 Tech Science Press. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
During the COVID-19 pandemic, online meetings became common for daily teamwork in the home office. To understand the opportunities and challenges of meeting in virtual reality (VR) compared to videoconferences, we conducted the weekly team meetings of our human-computer interaction research lab on five off-the-shelf online meeting platforms over 4 months. After each of the 12 meetings, we asked the participants (N = 32) to share their experiences, resulting in 200 completed online questionnaires. We evaluated the ratings of the overall meeting experience and conducted an exploratory factor analysis of the quantitative data to compare VR meetings and video calls in terms of meeting involvement and co-presence. In addition, a thematic analysis of the qualitative data revealed genuine insights covering five themes: spatial aspects, meeting atmosphere, expression of emotions, meeting productivity, and user needs. We reflect on our findings gained under authentic working conditions, derive lessons learned for running successful team meetings in VR supporting different kinds of meeting formats, and discuss the team's long-term platform choice. Copyright © 2023 Bonfert, Reinschluessel, Putze, Lai, Alexandrovsky, Malaka and Döring.
ABSTRACT
This Research Work-in-Progress Paper focuses on the change in collaboration practices within engineering and design (E&D) teams caused by COVID. A mixed-methods research approach was used. A survey designed to examine the long-term educational impact of an in-depth mechatronics graduate-level course sequence on its alumni was supplemented with Likert-scale and open-ended questions asking participants about the impact of COVID on their work mode and work satisfaction. The survey was administered in September 2021 and served as a filter to determine an interview sample. A literature review identifies leadership as an important factor in increasing team collaboration efficiency among virtual E&D teams. We identified and interviewed nine of the alumni who are currently leading E&D teams. Our goal is to identify skills those leaders acquired during their course experience that were particularly valuable for navigating the transition to remote collaboration. Furthermore, skills that have been critical for successful collaboration but were not learned during the course will also be identified. We then aim to derive practical implications for E&D course teaching teams on how to better prepare future E&D team leaders for remote collaboration. This Work-in-Progress paper focuses on our study motivation, design and preliminary results. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
The global spread of coronavirus has sparked a considerable interest in technologies that facilitate seamless communication between users which are physically or spatially distant. Using current remote collaboration systems that utilize 3D sensing with LiDAR and depth cameras, point cloud streaming, and MR/VR devices, distant users can communicate with each other as if they did in person. However, these systems may violate users' privacy since they can share information of their entire personal space with other users. In addition, although various point cloud compression methods have been proposed, remote transmission of 3D scenes still requires significant bandwidth. This paper proposes a 3D spatial data sharing system based on the paradigm of 'semantic communication', i.e., controlling communication in the units of semantic objects. Our system understands the semantics of the scene and leverages point cloud streaming, thereby enabling users to assert fine-grained control over their privacy. Further, the system adaptively controls the size of the data frame based on network capacity and scene context. The experimental results show that the network delay can be reduced by 96%. We have also tested our system in a commercial 4G network, showing that 3-D spatial sharing with point clouds over severe networks is possible. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
Over the last several years, remote collaboration has been getting more attention in the research community because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In previous studies, researchers have investigated the effect of adding visual communication cues or shared views in collaboration, but there has not been any previous study exploring the influence between them. In this paper, we investigate the influence of view types on the use of visual communication cues. We compared the use of the three visual cues (hand gesture, a pointer with hand gesture, and sketches with hand gesture) across two view types (dependent and independent views), respectively. We conducted a user study, and the results showed that hand gesture and sketches with the hand gesture cues were well matched with the dependent view condition, and using a pointer with the hand gesture cue was suited to the independent view condition. With the dependent view, the hand gesture and sketch cues required less mental effort for collaborative communication, had better usability, provided better message understanding, and increased feeling of co-presence compared to the independent view. Since the dependent view supported the same viewpoint between the remote expert and a local worker, the local worker could easily understand the remote expert’s hand gestures. In contrast, in the independent view case, when they had different viewpoints, it was not easy for the local worker to understand the remote expert’s hand gestures. The sketch cue had a benefit of showing the final position and orientation of the manipulating objects with the dependent view, but this benefit was less obvious in the independent view case (which provided a further view compared to the dependent view) because precise drawing in the sketches was difficult from a distance. On the contrary, a pointer with the hand gesture cue required less mental effort to collaborate, had better usability, provided better message understanding, and an increased feeling of co-presence in the independent view condition than in the dependent view condition. The pointer cue could be used instead of a hand gesture in the independent view condition because the pointer could still show precise pointing information regardless of the view type. © 2023 Tech Science Press. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The digitization of the oil and gas industry creates potentially detrimental opportunities for terrorists, criminals, insiders, and activists to exploit. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, working remotely has become the norm, and remote collaboration has been enabled by such Internet-based applications as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and others. Remote employees may be more casual with cybersecurity, which further increases the risk of cyberattacks. Successful cyberattacks against oil and gas assets or operations have the capacity to cripple economies, disrupt power grids, and initiate political or public unrest and chaos. Cybersecurity defense should be as central to our organizational culture as turning on our workplace computer. We discuss the most likely weak points in our systems and possible solutions. © 2022 by The Society of Exploration Geophysicists.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many theater productions to shift to remote rehearsals and performances using online video conference platforms. Video conference software makes it possible to share individual performances, but loses the sense of presence together and provides no way to visualize blocking movements on the shared space of the stage. Rehearsal by video conference can cause productions to either omit blocking altogether or have only a few on stage rehearsals, sometimes just days before opening. This paper presents a Web-based system that enables productions to remotely rehearse blocking at any stage of the production. Remote performers can propose their own blocking, rehearse scripted cues and visualize movements in a shared virtual stage. This paper describes the design, implementation, and focus group evaluations of Stage Together with a college theater production of Medea by Euripides. © 2022 ACM.
ABSTRACT
This paper describes our remote collaboration project related to the design and implementation of virtual kawaii robots by Japanese and American university students, and affective evaluation of the robots. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to change our planned 7-week collaboration from in-person to virtual with a resultant change in the target product of our collaboration from real robots to virtual robots. Based on our new plan for 2021, students designed robots in virtual spaces aiming that each robot elicited a different Electroencephalogram (EEG) and/or Heart Rate (HR) reaction from humans. Based on the persona and scenario for the companion robot authored by each student team, each student designed four robots with the goal that one robot would be most kawaii, a Japanese adjective representing cute and adorable, and others would be less kawaii due to variations in shapes and colors. The affective evaluation of robots was performed both by biological signals (EEG and HR) and by kawaii rating. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
This paper describes results from a study examining how musicians have been affected by the restrictive environments imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the corresponding technological implications. Through a survey of 29 musicians and additional interviews with 7 professional improvisation musicians, we observe the challenges musicians face in 1) finding the technological infrastructure and shared spaces necessary for dynamic, remote creative collaborations, 2) producing the mindset, free time, and sources of inspiration necessary for initiating creativity during times of stress, and 3) maintaining (and potentially expanding) the social connections and creative community vital to creative practice. We also report on how some musicians have creatively leveraged the radical changes in their lives to drive new artistic practices and styles of music. Collectively, these data illustrate the resilience of certain existing remote collaboration and creative tools, while suggesting ways other digital tools could more flexibly accommodate new use cases. The data also suggest the value of tools and services that help people creatively cope with radical changes to their lives and livelihoods.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that learning remotely is a crucial skill for K-12 students. However, remote instruction and collaboration bring a new set of challenges for these students, especially in the context of pair programming. An important goal for the CS education community is to understand these younger learners' experiences during remote programming activities. This experience report describes a three-day learning experience in which 18 middle school students engaged in remote pair programming activities by modeling scientific processes in a block-based programming language. After three remote pair programming sessions, we conducted individual interviews to understand middle school students' experiences during remote pair programming activities as well as comparing these new experiences to their previous co-located pair programming experiences. The results from these interviews suggest that the majority of the students (72%) enjoyed the remote activities despite many (55%) experiencing some form of technical difficulty. The interviews revealed important opportunities and challenges that being remote brought to pair programming within themes of changes in communication and focus, pair programming dynamics, and available resources. Students also identified issues with remote collaboration such as technical difficulties from software that impaired their ability to work and to communicate. These observations inform new efforts to adapt CS education to the increased demand for remote collaborative work and reveal patterns that may increase success in this new work style. © 2022 ACM.
ABSTRACT
Due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a renewed interest in expanding the capabilities of remote collaboration tools. Studies show the importance of noticing peripheral cues, pointing to or manipulating real-world objects in face-to-face meetings. This case study investigated the opportunities of combining traditional video conferencing with a multi-user VR platform to enable the interactive collaborative design of a VR training experience between multiple stakeholders working from their homes. In this article, the authors reflect on the experience and contribute a fully online and immersive collaborative design workflow for future VR development projects. The authors believe this workflow is of benefit for remote collaboration in general, but particularly in severely restricted environments when face-to-face meetings are impossible. Copyright © 2021, IGI Global.
ABSTRACT
This paper presents experimental research about using Augmented Reality (AR) for interactive design processes, exploring a spatial "live" design method taking place in an overlay of real space and digital models. It discusses the processes and outcomes of a seminar undertaken at Graz University of Technology in winter term 2020/2021. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the course was taught online, and conceptualized to allow students the biggest possible learning experience during the lockdown. Ensuring accessibility to all participants, the seminar was based on the use of ubiquitous devices. The implementation of newly developed software, such as "Fologram", enabled the students to use AR systems at home with their personal computers and smartphones. The task of the course was to design customized interventions for the students' own domestic spaces, reacting to changing conditions and needs during the lockdown. The employed workflow was driven by an instant connection between 3D-modeling (Rhinoceros3D), parametric design (Grasshopper) and holographic immersion (Fologram). © 2021, Education and research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe. All rights reserved.