Extended Reality Framework for Remote Collaborative Interactions in Virtual Environments

This paper proposes the implementation of a framework for the development of collaborative extended reality (XR) applications. Using the framework, developers can focus on understanding which collaborative mechanisms they need to implement for the respective reality model application. In this paper we specifically study collaborative mechanisms around object manipulation in Virtual Reality (VR). As such, we planned a VR prototype using the proposed framework, which was used to validate the various interaction and collaboration features in VR. The gathered data from the user tests revealed that they enjoyed the experience and the collaborative mechanisms helped them work together. Furthermore, to understand whether the framework allowed for the development of XR applications, we decided to implement an augmented reality prototype as well. Afterwards, we ran an experiment with 4 VR and 3 AR users sharing the same virtual environment. The experiment was successful at allowing them to interact in real-time in the same shared environment. Therefore, the framework enables the development of XR applications that support different mixed-reality technologies.