Collaboration with 360° Videochat: Challenges and Opportunities

We designed a videochat experience where one participant can experience a remote environment from a 360° camera. This allows the remote user to view and explore the environment without necessitating interaction from the local participant. We designed and conducted an observational study to understand the experience, and the challenges that people might encounter. In a study with 32 participants (16 pairs), we found that remote participants could actively participate in the experience with the environment in ways that are not possible with current mobile video chat. However, we also found that participants had challenges in communicating location and orientation information because many of common communication resources we rely on in collocated chat are not available. Based on these findings, we discuss how future mobile video chat systems need to balance immersion with interaction ease.