Handheld or Handsfree? Remote Collaboration via Lightweight Head-Mounted Displays and Handheld Devices

Emerging wearable and mobile communication technologies, such as lightweight head-mounted displays (HMDs) and hand-held devices, promise support for everyday remote collaboration. Despite their potential for widespread use, their effectiveness as collaborative tools is unknown, particularly in physical tasks involving mobility. To better understand their impact on collaborative behaviors, perceptions, and performance, we conducted a two-by-two (technology type: HMD vs. tablet computer; task setting: static vs. dynamic) between-subjects study where participants (n = 66) remotely collaborated as "helper" and "worker" pairs in the construction of a physical object. Our results showed that, in the dynamic task, HMD use enabled helpers to offer more frequent directing commands and more proactive assistance, resulting in marginally faster task completion. In the static task, while tablet use helped convey subtle visual information, helpers and workers had conflicting perceptions of how the two technologies contributed to their success. Our findings offer strong design and research implications, underlining the importance of a consistent view of the shared workspace and the differential support collaborators with different roles receive from technologies.