arXiv subjects

Sina Hinzmann

Publications and source records attributed to Sina Hinzmann.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Size Matters: The Impact of Avatar Size on User Experience in Healthcare Applications

The usage of virtual avatars in healthcare applications has become widely popular; however, certain critical aspects, such as social distancing and avatar size, remain insufficiently explored. This research investigates user experience and preferences when interacting with a healthcare application utilizing virtual avatars displayed in different sizes. For our study, we had 23 participants interacting with five different avatars (a human-size avatar followed by four smaller avatars in a randomized order) varying in size, projected on a wall in front of them. The avatars were fully integrated with an artificial intelligence chatbot to make them conversational. Users were asked to rate the usability of the system after interacting with each avatar and complete a survey regarding trust and an additional questionnaire on social presence. The results of this study show that avatar size significantly influences the perceived attractiveness and perspicuity, with the medium-sized avatars receiving the highest ratings. Social presence correlated strongly with stimulation and attractiveness, suggesting that an avatar's visual appeal and interactivity influenced user engagement more than its physical size. Additionally, we observed a tendency for gender-specific differences on some of the UEQ+ scales, with male participants tending to prefer human-sized representations, while female participants slightly favored smaller avatars. These findings highlight the importance of avatar design and representation in optimizing user experience and trust in virtual healthcare environments.

cs.HC↗

arXiv2025

Exploring the Effects of Different Asymmetric Game Designs on User Experience in Collaborative Virtual Reality

The risk of isolation in virtual reality (VR) stems from the immersive nature of the technology. VR can transport users to entirely virtual environments, often disconnecting them from the physical world and real-life interactions. Asymmetric multiplayer options have been explored to address this issue and encourage social interaction by requiring players to communicate and collaborate to achieve common objectives. Nevertheless, research on implementing these designs and their effects is limited, mainly due to the novelty of multiplayer VR gaming. This article investigates how different game design approaches affect the player experience during an asymmetric multiplayer VR game. Four versions of a VR experience were created and tested in a study involving 74 participants. Each version differs in terms of the sharing of virtual environments (shared vs separated) and the players' dependency on the experience (mutual vs unidirectional). The results showed that variations in game design influenced aspects of the player experience, such as system usability, pragmatic UX quality, immersion control, and intrinsic motivation. Notably, the player roles and the co-presence in the virtual environment did not simultaneously impact these aspects, suggesting that the degree to which players depend on each other changes the player experience.

cs.HC↗

arXiv2025

Finding My Way: Influence of Different Audio Augmented Reality Navigation Cues on User Experience and Subjective Usefulness

As augmented reality (AR) becomes increasingly prevalent in mobile and context-aware applications, the role of auditory cues in guiding users through physical environments is becoming critical. This study investigates the effectiveness and user experience of various categories of audio cues, including fully non-verbal sounds and speech-derived Spearcons, during outdoor navigation tasks using the Meta Quest 3 headset. Twenty participants navigated five outdoor routes using audio-only cue types: Artificial Sounds, Nature Sounds, Spearcons, Musical Instruments, and Auditory Icons. Subjective evaluations were collected to assess the perceived effectiveness and user experience of each sound type. Results revealed significant differences in perceived novelty and stimulation across sound types. Artificial Sounds and Musical Instruments were rated higher than Spearcons in novelty, while Artificial Sounds were also rated higher than Spearcons in stimulation. Overall preference was evenly split between Nature Sounds and Artificial Sounds. These findings suggest that incorporating aspects of novelty and user engagement in auditory feedback design may enhance the effectiveness of AR navigation systems.

cs.HC↗

arXiv2024

Single Vs Dual: Influence of the Number of Displays on User Experience within Virtually Embodied Conversational Systems

The current research evaluates user experience and preference when interacting with a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) healthcare application displayed on a single tablet in comparison to interaction with the same application distributed across two tablets. We conducted a within-subject user study with 43 participants who engaged with and rated the usability of our system and participated in a post-experiment interview to collect subjective data. Our findings showed significantly higher usability and higher pragmatic quality ratings for the single tablet condition. However, some users attribute a higher level of presence to the avatar and prefer it to be placed on a second tablet.

cs.HC↗

arXiv2024

Investigating the impact of virtual element misalignment in collaborative Augmented Reality experiences

The collaboration in co-located shared environments has sparked an increased interest in immersive technologies, including Augmented Reality (AR). Since research in this field has primarily focused on individual user experiences in AR, the collaborative aspects within shared AR spaces remain less explored, and fewer studies can provide guidelines for designing this type of experience. This article investigates how the user experience in a collaborative shared AR space is affected by divergent perceptions of virtual objects and the effects of positional synchrony and avatars. For this purpose, we developed an AR app and used two distinct experimental conditions to study the influencing factors. Forty-eight participants, organized into 24 pairs, participated in the experiment and jointly interacted with shared virtual objects. Results indicate that divergent perceptions of virtual objects did not directly influence communication and collaboration dynamics. Conversely, positional synchrony emerged as a critical factor, significantly enhancing the quality of the collaborative experience. On the contrary, while not negligible, avatars played a relatively less pronounced role in influencing these dynamics. The findings can potentially offer valuable practical insights, guiding the development of future collaborative AR/VR environments.

cs.HC↗