In this paper we present the results of a trial in which two participants collaborated on a puzzle-solving task in networked virtual environments. The task was a Rubik's cube type puzzle, and this meant that the two participants had to interact with the space and with each other very intensivelyFand they did this successfully despite the limitation of the networked situation. We compare collaboration in networked immersive projection technology (IPT's) systems with previous results concerning collaboration in an IPT system linked with a desktop computer, and also with collaboration on the same task in the real world. Our findings show that the task performance in networked IPT's and in the real scenario are very similar to each otherFwhereas IPT-to-desktop performance is much poorer. Results about participants' experience of 'presence', 'co-presence' and collaboration shed further light on these findings. r

In this study we compared collaboration on a puzzle-solving task carried out by two persons in a virtual and a real environment. The task, putting together a cube consisting of different colored blocks in a "Rubiks" cube-type puzzle, was performed both in a shared virtual environment (VE) setting, using a Cave-type virtual reality (VR) system networked with a desktop VR system, and with cardboard colored blocks in an equivalent real setting. The aims of the study were to investigate presence, co-presence, collaboration, leadership, and performance in the two settings. We found that the participants contributed unequally to the task in the VE, and also found differences in collaboration between the virtual and the real setting.

In this study we compared collaboration on a puzzlesolving task carried out by two persons in a virtual and a real environment. The task, putting together a cube consisting of different coloured blocks in a 'Rubiks' cubetype puzzle, was performed both in a shared virtual environment (VE) setting, using a Cave-type virtual reality (VR) system networked with a desktop VR system, and with cardboard coloured blocks in an equivalent real setting. The aims of the study were to investigate collaboration, leadership and performance in the two settings. We found that the participants contributed unequally to the task in the VE, and also differences in collaboration between the virtual and the real setting.

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While designing and discussing exhibitions in science centers, common conceptual framework is needed. This paper provides a framework based on participation, virtuality, and collaboration, and two models - a Rubik's cube model and a Scatter plot space. They are suitable tools for analysis and overview of existing and planned exhibitions, as well as for conceptual analysis during the design process. The classification and the models for the interaction have been developed in a research by design process, where 45 prototypes have been designed, exhibited and tested.

As the potential value of online learning and distance education becomes increasingly clear (considering, e.g., global health and climate change) we are motivated to push for practical use of emerging technologies at an accelerated pace, to further facilitate rich and flexible distance education. While the pedagogical value of lectures has been often questioned, it remains a common method of instruction, making them relevant to investigate within digitalisation. Virtual Reality (VR) affords valuable embodied experiences and is currently at a point where it is within reach for non-experts, but may require considerable additional effort.By focusing on the use of off-the-shelf hardware and software to give virtual lectures, a larger number of educators can start experimenting within their comfort zone. The purpose of the current paper is to contribute to the acceleration of this process by describing challenges encountered in such an attempt to quickly employ readily available VR technology to give a lecture in VR. Is it possible for educators without previous expertise in VR to start using this technology now? What factors can be considered to make the experience positive to both educators and students?The setup of the VR lecture in this case study had the lecturer entering a virtual environment remotely (from another city) using the free VR application Bigscreen with students and three observing coteachers entering the same environment being co-located in one physical room. The study was performed as an action research intervention, and the results were documented with ethnographic observations and a focus group. Some issues encountered may be avoided or minimized by raising awareness beforehand and additional preparation. Based on the present study, technical and ethical recommendations are given for which issues should be prioritized and how they may be dealt with, regardless of the educators' level of expertise, to be able to successfully conduct a VR lecture.

In this paper, we will discuss how a virtual platform can be used in order to explore communication forms for stakeholders in the planning process of public knowledge institutions. The paper presents the Virtual Culture House, an attempt to stimulate the communication among stakeholders and users of a future culture house. The project is cooperation between Chalmers University of Technology and the municipality of Lundby in Sweden, and aims to find new ways of complementing the traditional architectural visualizations and public hearings for engaging citizens in the development process of public knowledge institutions. The contribution of this paper is twofold ; firstly it presents a virtual platform based on activities to complement the traditional methods for involving stakeholders in the development process of public knowledge institutions, and secondly, it introduces visitors, citizens, contributors and officials as stakeholders on equal ground, and claim that such a dialogical tool can support user involvement and participation and stimulate both staged activities and self-motivated activities. The Virtual Culture House forms, together with the physical local community, an activity-based physical-digital space that shapes the identity of the future physical culture house.

Collaboration at a distance has long been a research goal of distributed virtual environments. A number of recent technologies, including immersive projection technology systems (IPTs) and head-mounted displays (HMDs), promise a new generation of technologies that are more intuitive to use than desktop-based systems.This paper presents an experiment that compares collaboration in five different settings. Pairs collaborated on the same puzzle-solving task using one of: an IPT connected to another IPT, an IPT connected to an HMD, an IPT connected to a desktop system, two connected desktop systems, or face-to-face collaboration with real objects.The findings demonstrate the benefits of using immersive technologies, and show the advantages of using symmetrical settings for better performance. Some usability problems of the different distributed settings are addressed, as well as factors such as "presence" and "copresence" and how these contribute to the participants' overall experiences.