2023/11/25 by Haohua Lyu, Lyu, Haohua, Cyrus Vachha +7
Computer Science · Social Sciences · #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Human-Computer Interaction (cs.HC) #Image and Video Quality Assessment #Multimedia Communication and Technology #Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2311.14930
openalex publication_date 2023/11/25 · openalex created_date 2023/11/29 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The increasing adoption of Virtual Reality (VR) systems in different domains have led to a need to support interaction between many spectators and a VR user. This is common in game streaming, live performances, and webinars. Prior CSCW systems for VR environments are limited to small groups of users. In this work, we identify problems associated with interaction carried out with large groups of users. To address this, we introduce an additional user role: the co-host. They mediate communications between the VR user and many spectators. To facilitate this mediation, we present StreamFunnel, which allows the co-host to be part of the VR application's space and interact with it. The design of StreamFunnel was informed by formative interviews with six experts. StreamFunnel uses a cloud-based streaming solution to enable remote co-host and many spectators to view and interact through standard web browsers, without requiring any custom software. We present results of informal user testing which provides insights into StreamFunnel's ability to facilitate these scalable interactions. Our participants, who took the role of a co-host, found that StreamFunnel enables them to add value in presenting the VR experience to the spectators and relaying useful information from the live chat to the VR user.