Visual indication while sharing items from a private 3D portal room UI to public virtual environments

Abstract

In this paper, we describe the user experience evaluation results of a 3D Portal Room UI for sharing 3D objects from private space to remote public virtual environments. The user evaluation with 30 participants was conducted with a functional prototype and additional high quality images that were printed on paper sheets. The evaluation indicated that participants liked this way of sharing objects and found it also useful. However, it also raised some privacy concerns, especially if the target virtual environment was perceived as public. Evaluation elicited that the visual indication while sharing objects is important; therefore, designers of 3D virtual environments should prefer a distinguishable glow around the shared object and portal. © 2013 Springer-Verlag.