Mobility Link XR: Interspace Interaction System in Electric Wheelchair

Abstract

This research proposes a communication system called Mobility Link XR that connects physical space and cyberspace with mobility. Mobility Link XR is a system that enables remote users to view panoramic video from a 360-degree camera attached to a mobility vehicle in different space by wearing a VR device, and mobility users to view the remote user as an avatar by wearing an MR device. In this way, sharing space in three dimensions using XR enables a higher level of human communication. In this paper, we apply Mobility Link XR to an electric wheelchair and design two types of scenarios: an assistance mode that reproduces the positional relationship of communication in a conventional wheelchair, and a passenger mode that reproduces the positional relationship inside a vehicle, which is said to be a suitable distance for conversation. We also evaluated the reproducibility of communication in the wheelchair and the effectiveness of communication using the avatar. The results showed that the reproducibility of voice and emotion was highly evaluated and that the side-by-side positional relationship enabled higher quality communication as the avatar was more easily seen and felt present.