Cooperation in virtual environments with individual views

When users are interacting collaboratively in a virtual environment it cannot be guaranteed that every user has the same input device or that they have access to the same information. Our research aims at understanding the effects of such asymmetries on the user embodiment in collaborative virtual environments (CVEs). In order to do this, we have developed a prototyping platform for cooperative interaction between two users. To change the information a user has, we are incorporating “special views”[1] for each person. Also, an easily expandable array of input devices is supported, e.g. Mouse/Keyboard, Novint Falcon, Razer Hydra, ART Flightstick, Leap Motion, etc. Those devices can provide additional information to a user, like haptic feedback, but they can also be used to restrain a user, for example by providing a device with less degrees of freedom.