AR HMD Collaboration Views Without Obstructing User Vision
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Solution Overview
Problem
Collaborative augmented reality environments face challenges in enabling users to intuitively share and access the views and statuses of fellow collaborators without disrupting the workflow, as existing single-user devices limit awareness of others' perspectives and require manual adjustments or interruptions.
Innovation Solution
A system where first and second head-mounted displays (HMDs) access a shared dataset, allowing each to render a computer-generated view based on detected viewing placements, and facilitate interactions to request and receive visual data from fellow collaborators, adhering to privacy policies, and render additional objects non-obstructively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If single-user HMD devices are used for augmented reality, then each user can perceive unique perspectives based on their viewing placement, but users cannot intuitively obtain awareness of fellow collaborators' views or statuses
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates virtual copies of collaborators' views and statuses that are rendered in the shared environment. Each user can perceive representations of what other collaborators are viewing, effectively copying their perspective data into the shared AR space without requiring direct access to another user's device
Solution Approach 2:
A server acts as an intermediary that collects viewing placement data from multiple HMDs, processes this information, and distributes relevant collaborator view data to appropriate users. This mediator architecture enables awareness of collaborators' views without direct peer-to-peer complexity
2Loss of information
If manual adjustments are made to share views between collaborators, then information can be exchanged, but workflow is interrupted and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously tracks and transmits collaborator viewing data in real-time without requiring manual initiation. View sharing occurs automatically and continuously as collaborators move through their workflows, eliminating interruptions while maintaining information exchange
Solution Approach 2:
The AR system automatically manages view sharing and information exchange between collaborators without requiring manual intervention. The system self-adjusts to provide relevant collaborator perspectives based on detected viewing placements and interaction patterns
3Loss of information
If additional visual data is rendered to show collaborator views, then awareness is improved, but the user's view may be obstructed
Solution Approach 1:
The system renders collaborator view indicators in alternative spatial dimensions or layers within the AR environment, such as positioning them at different depths, angles, or peripheral locations. This allows additional information to be displayed without blocking the user's primary forward view
Data Source
AI summary
Users can intuitively and non-obstructively obtain awareness of fellow collaborator views and/or statuses in an augmented reality environment. An interaction is detected between a first and second HMD. The detected interaction can cause the first HMD to request state information associated with the second HMD. The second HMD can process the request to generate a set of visual data as a response to the request. The second HMD can communicate the set of visual data to the first HMD, so that the first HMD can render the received set of visual data to be displayed concurrently with its own augmented view. Additional computer-generated object(s) can be positioned in accordance with a real-world or virtualized position of the second HMD, such that the now-visible state information associated with the second HMD does not obstruct a view of the first or second HMD's user.