Reducing Fragmentation in Telecollaboration by Using IPT Interfaces

Abstract

Telecommunication systems, such as AccessGrid, allow collaboration across a distributed team. However, these systems typically introduce fragmentation into the view of the shared environment. Many have found that IPT systems offer several important advantages above other display technologies in supporting distance working. This study focuses on fragmentation, which has previously been shown to induce problems in efficient object referencing within a shared virtual environment accessed through desktop displays. We have attempted to repeat the experiment while varying the display type. The results reinforce previous studies by showing a significant improvement in task performance when the entire team uses IPT displays. We further show that the improvement is unlikely to come in this case from more natural interaction or navigation and thus postulate that it arises from more efficient mutual orientation towards objects of interest, arising from a reduction in fragmentation.