Virtualizing a Collaboration Task as an Interactable Environment and Installing it on Real World

TL;DR

The paper tackles scaling distributed collaboration in mixed reality by virtualizing group tasks as installable virtual spaces that align with each user’s real environment. It advances a modular, task-space framework with configurable embodiment fidelity, dynamic sub-spaces, asynchronous collaboration features, and tangible-object mappings, enabling consistent MR interactions across diverse settings. A central exemplar, Idea Islands, demonstrates ideation-driven virtual task spaces and quantifies the impact of metaphor design on idea generation and diversity, while outlining pathways to multi-user collaboration and real-world installation. Collectively, the work presents a practical blueprint for scalable, immersive MR collaboration that preserves physical context and supports seamless transitions between tasks, potentially improving participation, immersion, and productivity in distributed teams.

Abstract

This paper proposes a novel approach to scaling distributed collaboration in mixed reality by virtualizing collaborative tasks as independent, installable environments. By mapping group activities into dedicated virtual spaces that adapt to each user's real-world context, the proposed method supports consistent MR interactions, dynamic group engagement, and seamless task transitions. Preliminary studies in individual ideation demonstrate enhanced immersion and productivity, paving the way for future multi-user collaborative systems.

Figures (3)

• Figure 1: Overview of Idea Islands: a system that virtualizes individual ideation by mapping ideas into interactive metaphors, supporting dynamic in-metaphor exploration.
• Figure 2: The transformation of ideation into an interactive virtual task space using Idea Islands.
• Figure 3: Key elements of an Idea Island.