Communication Behavior in Embodied Virtual Reality

TLDR

Embodied virtual reality faithfully renders users' movements onto an avatar in a virtual 3D environment, enabling nuanced nonverbal behavior alongside verbal communication. The study examined communication behavior by having 30 dyads perform negotiation and furniture placement tasks in a shared visual workspace. Dyads completed the tasks under three conditions—face‑to‑face, embodied VR with visible full‑body avatars, and non‑embodied VR without avatars—while researchers collected subjective experience measures and annotated verbal and nonverbal behavior. Embodied VR produced social presence and conversational patterns nearly identical to face‑to‑face interaction, whereas the non‑embodied VR condition was perceived as lonely and led to degraded communication.

Abstract

Embodied virtual reality faithfully renders users' movements onto an avatar in a virtual 3D environment, supporting nuanced nonverbal behavior alongside verbal communication. To investigate communication behavior within this medium, we had 30 dyads complete two tasks using a shared visual workspace: negotiating an apartment layout and placing model furniture on an apartment floor plan. Dyads completed both tasks under three different conditions: face-to-face, embodied VR with visible full-body avatars, and no embodiment VR, where the participants shared a virtual space, but had no visible avatars. Both subjective measures of users' experiences and detailed annotations of verbal and nonverbal behavior are used to understand how the media impact communication behavior. Embodied VR provides a high level of social presence with conversation patterns that are very similar to face-to-face interaction. In contrast, providing only the shared environment was generally found to be lonely and appears to lead to degraded communication.