Comparing pointing and drawing for remote collaboration

In this research, we explore using pointing and drawing in a remote collaboration system. Our application allows a local user with a tablet to communicate with a remote expert on a desktop computer. We compared performance in four conditions: (1) Pointers on Still Image, (2) Pointers on Live Video, (3) Annotation on Still Image, and (4) Annotation on Live Video. We found that using drawing annotations would require fewer inputs on an expert side, and would require less cognitive load on the local worker side. In a follow-on study we compared the conditions (2) and (4) using a more complicated task. We found that pointing input requires good verbal communication to be effective and that drawing annotations need to be erased after completing each step of a task.