Facilitating Asymmetric Interaction between VR Users and External Users via Wearable Gesture-Based Interface

Head-mounted displays (HMDs) create a highly immersive experience, while limit VR users' awareness of external users that co-located in the same environment. Previous studies generate various asymmetric communication that allowing external users to collaborate with VR users. In our work, we designed a wearable gesture-based interface for external users in two main asymmetric VR scenarios: (1) Object Transition and (2) Collaborative Game. We conducted a hybrid user study with twenty participants to compare the gesture-based interaction and controller-based interaction to investigate the effects on VR experience, social presence, and collaborative efficiency for external users. Our study revealed that the participants in gesture-based interaction received more positive feedbacks compared to those in controller-based interaction. Our findings suggested that the gesture-based interaction could be adapted for future asymmetric VR experience.