DoubleMe: Local Blending in Multi-Display Environments with Augmented Reality to Facilitate Co-Located Collaboration

Co-located collaboration often raises challenges related to physical constraints because of e.g., stationary display setups or limited possibilities of movement. We introduce DoubleMe, an Augmented Reality system that generates virtual duplicates of collaborators’ workspaces, comprising both their displays and avatars. With DoubleMe, users maintain the layout of their own physical workspace and can position the duplicate of their collaborator’s workspace nearby. This approach alleviates spatial constraints by enabling one user to join another’s workspace without leaving their own. We report on two experiments examining the effectiveness of this approach. The first experiment investigates how avatar appearance and interaction influence user comfort and relationship dynamics. The second experiment assesses the performance benefits of duplicates over traditional co-located setups for collaborative tasks. Our findings suggest that the addition of duplicates to physical presence can enhance co-located collaboration while improving comfort.