Proximity and view awareness to reduce referential ambiguity in a shared 3D virtual environment

Abstract

This contribution investigates the role of virtual space on social interactions during collaborative tasks. We previously observed that MUD users rely on spatial positions to refine the conversational context and thereby facilitate mutual understanding. Supporting mutual understanding is a main challenge of CSCL research. We explore how this may happen in a continuous space (VRML). Our first hypothesis was that the proximity of the emitter to the referred object clarifies the referential context. Our second hypothesis stated that the receiver uses gaze awareness (knowing what the emitter is looking at) in order to guess which object the emitter refers to. The experiment results confirmed the first hypothesis, surprisingly rejected the second hypothesis and reveal complex interactions between the two.

A Framework for Inter-referential Awareness in Collaborative Environments

“…In their study of virtual 3D spaces, Ott and Dillenbourg discovered that proximity and orientation towards objects help with the interpretation of deictic references [13]. Billinghurst et.…”

“…They serve as a form of representation, with the argument that one does these actions in order to communicate with others. In the work of Ott, participants were represented by a cone (thus, devoid of orientation information) and used proximity to refer to objects [13]; their change in position was a representation used to make others aware of their selection. Further, if gesture interfaces are used to propagate references to others, the system itself becomes the receiver, and gesturing is still classified as a representation.…”

Collaboration in a multi-user game: impacts of an awareness tool on mutual modeling

“…Ott and Dillenbourg [26] examined if the use of an AT can modify the grounding process. The authors found that spatial awareness supports grounding by providing people with the contextual cues necessary to refer to objects, that is to say, knowing what the teammate is looking at could reduce referential ambiguity.…”