Exploring Stereoscopic Multi-User Interaction with Individual Views

When users are interacting in a collaborative virtual environment it can neither be guaranteed that every user has the same input device nor that they have access to the same information. Our research aims at understanding the effects of such asymmetries on the user embodiment in cooperative multi-user environments. In order to do this, a generic interaction application is needed, which can be altered quickly to generate differences in information distribution and interaction possibilities. In this paper we therefore present the development of such a prototyping platform for cooperative interaction between two users in a stereoscpoic cooperative virtual world. A flexible software framework enables us to quickly generate physics-based puzzles for the users to solve together. To change the information a user gets, we are incorporating "special views" for each person. To diversify interaction fidelity, an easily expandable array of input devices is supported, e.g. Mouse/Keyboard, Novint Falcon, Razer Hydra, ART Flightstick, etc. Those devices can provide additional information to a user, like haptic feedback, but they can also restrain a user by providing less degrees of freedom. Additionally, they can be used to compare different interaction metaphors, like handover, object possession, or picking behavior.