Spatial Multi-Presence System to Increase Security Awareness for Remote Collaboration in an Extended Reality Environment

Enhancing the sense of presence of participants is an important issue in terms of security awareness for remote collaboration in extended reality. However, conventional methods are insufficient to be aware of remote situations and to search for and control remote workspaces. This study proposes a spatial multi-presence system that simultaneously provides multiple spaces while rapidly exploring these spaces as users perform collaborative work in an extended reality environment. The proposed system provides methods for arranging and manipulating remote and personal spaces by creating an annular screen that is invisible to the user. The user can freely arrange remote participants and their workspaces on the annular screen. Because users can simultaneously view various spaces arranged on the annular screen, they can perform collaborative work while simultaneously feeling the presence of multiple spaces and can be fully immersed in a specific space. In addition, the personal spaces where users work can also be arranged through the annular screen. According to the results of the performance evaluations, users participating in remote collaborative works can visualize the spaces of multiple users simultaneously and feel their presence, thereby increasing their understanding of the spaces. Moreover, the proposed system reduces the time to perform tasks and gain awareness of the emergency in remote workspaces.