The Influence of Spatial Representation on Remote Peer Consultation: A Study on Mixed Reality Remote Support for Choosing Furniture

Abstract

This paper presents a study in which we investigated the use of different devices and mechanisms to implement Mixed Reality settings for peer recommendations on furniture. In particular, we developed a mechanism to scan rooms for new furniture to be placed in, make the resulting 3D environment available to users and display virtual furniture in it. In an exploratory study, we asked 21 participants to use this environment to support an imaginary friend in their buying decision on a couch for their living room. This was done in five conditions, including a static photo of the living room, 3D representations on mobile phones and PC screens as well as mobile (cardboard-based) VR and a dedicated VR HMD. In the study, we wanted to explore how display size, 3D experience and the fidelity of HMDs affect the quality of support for recommendations by the remote peers. Our results show that the screen-based and VR-based 3D mechanisms outperform a simple photo and that VR HMDs created highest perceptions of spatial presence and were preferred by users. Surprisingly, users perceived all mechanisms showing the 3D environment to create similar qualities of support for their recommendations. We analyze these findings and derive design recommendations from them.