Hide and Seek: 透過視覺擴增技術在混合實境遠端協作中平衡隱私與覺察

Abstract

在遠端協作的背景下，如何在保護隱私的同時維持工作區域覺察（workspace awareness）是混合實境（MR）技術面臨的主要挑戰之一。隨著MR技術的日益發展，遠端合作中的使用者不僅可以共享任務相關的物件，還有機會共享更多物理環境。然而，這種「全或無」的共享配置常常導致視覺雜亂，增加認知負荷，並引發隱私顧慮。為了應對這些挑戰，本研究提出了一個系統原型，利用視覺擴增技術來調整物件在當地環境中的視覺顯著性。這些擴增效果可以同時支持工作區域覺察與隱私保護。 本論文探討在對稱AR-AR和非對稱AR-VR配置中的兩個使用者研究，著重於當地工作者和遠端指導者如何使用視覺擴增工具來提升協作效率、保護隱私並減少認知過載。通過紅色閃爍效果增加物件的顯著性，以及半透明效果降低物件顯著性，我們的系統允許使用者靈活地管理哪些物件應被強調，哪些應被隱藏。研究結果顯示，這些視覺擴增效果不僅提高了使用者對於隱私和任務重點的掌控，也有效促進了雙方在協作過程中的互動與覺察。

As MR technologies, particularly Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), become increasingly integrated into collaborative tasks, users face difficulties in managing the balance between sharing necessary information and safeguarding private or sensitive content. These challenges are further complicated by the spatial nature of MR environments, where remote users interact with both physical and virtual objects across three-dimensional spaces. To tackle these issues, this research explores the use of visual effects, such as highlights and semi-transparency, to manage the visibility of physical and virtual objects during remote tasks. Two user studies were conducted: one in a symmetric AR-AR scenario and another in an asymmetric AR-VR scenario. Results show that visual augmentations significantly improve content-sharing awareness for local workers and task-related workspace awareness for remote instructors. However, preferences for visual effects varied, highlighting the need for more customizable augmentation options. This research contributes to the design of MR systems that effectively balance privacy and task awareness, while providing actionable insights for future system improvements.