Improving Remote Spatial Understanding by Transmitting Spherical Images via Video Chat Applications

Abstract

Manufacturing functions are often performed by groups of engineers who cooperate and gather at work sites. However, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the movement and activities of groups of people have been restricted, especially in indoor spaces. This reduction in travel by engineers also implies a reduction in associated costs. Telepresence technology, which is studied in the field of virtual reality, can be used as a way to reduce travel. Telepresence allows users to engage with a site from a remote location as if they were present. Thus, engineers would be able to participate in a working group without the necessity of physically traveling to the site to cooperate with local manufacturing people. A variety of telepresence systems have been proposed; however, relatively few methods have been widely implemented compared with video chat applications that have recently become an established infrastructure in many companies. This is most likely because most proposed systems use robots, head-mounted displays, or dedicated multi-functional applications that require engineers to learn how to use them. One way to use a video chat application to understand a remote space is to have a remote participant move a camera used in a video chat application. In contrast, many VR social networking services use a viewing method with which users can change their viewing direction on the computer screen. In this study, we demonstrate that a system that allows users to rotate their viewing perspective on a laptop computer screen can provide an easier understanding of a virtual space than a system that requires a remote person to move a webcam. Based on these results, we propose a system that allows users to view a remote location on a laptop computer screen via a video chat application and an off-the-shelf spherical camera, and evaluate its usefulness.