HandsIn3D: Supporting remote guidance with immersive virtual environments

A collaboration scenario involving a remote helper guiding in real time a local worker in performing a task on physical objects is common in a wide range of industries including health, mining and manufacturing. An established ICT approach to supporting this type of collaboration is to provide a shared visual space and some form of remote gesture. The shared space and remote gesture are generally presented in a 2D video form. Recent research in tele-presence has indicated that technologies that support co-presence and immersion not only improve the process of collaboration but also improve spatial awareness of the remote participant. We therefore propose a novel approach to developing a 3D system based on a 3D shared space and 3D hand gestures. A proof of concept system for remote guidance called HandsIn3D has been developed. This system uses a head tracked stereoscopic HMD that allows the helper to be immersed in the virtual 3D space of the worker’s workspace. The system captures in 3D the hands of the helper and fuses the hands into the shared workspace. This paper introduces HandsIn3D and presents a user study to demonstrate the feasibility of our approach.