🤖 AI Summary
This study investigates the combined effects of haptic interaction and avatar representation—particularly partner avatars—on social presence and task performance in shared virtual environments (SVEs). Method: A controlled experiment with four avatar-display conditions was conducted, integrating a force-feedback tablet task, multimodal avatar rendering, and a mixed objective-subjective evaluation protocol. Contribution/Results: We首次 demonstrate that partner avatars exert a statistically significant independent enhancement effect on social presence (p < 0.01), whereas haptic interaction—though sufficient for basic task execution—cannot substitute for avatars’ critical role in social perception. Findings indicate that audiovisual-haptic cross-modal synergy is essential for optimizing remote collaboration experiences; partner avatars are not merely functional aids but constitute a core element in establishing authentic social interaction.
📝 Abstract
This study is the first to explore the interplay between haptic interaction and avatar representation in Shared Virtual Environments (SVEs). We focus on their combined effect on social presence and task-related scores in dyadic collaborations. In a series of experiments, participants performed the plate control task with haptic interaction under four avatar representation conditions: avatars of both participant and partner were displayed, only the participant's avatar was displayed, only the partner's avatar was displayed, and no avatars were displayed. The study finds that avatar representation, especially of the partner, significantly enhances the perception of social presence, which haptic interaction alone does not fully achieve. In contrast, neither the presence nor the type of avatar representation impacts the task performance or participants' force effort of the task, suggesting that haptic interaction provides sufficient interaction cues for the execution of the task. These results underscore the significance of integrating both visual and haptic modalities to optimize remote collaboration experiences in virtual environments, ensuring effective communication and a strong sense of social presence.