Work-in-progress—Avatar vs Teams: Co-Presence and Visual Behavior in a Videoconference Cooperative Task

Abstract

The need for effective remote communication solutions is increasing, and videoconferencing tools are the top choice for many. Furthermore, the alternative of using avatars instead of video-based conferencing for enriching the communication process is gaining popularity. This work-in-progress presents an avatar-based remote communication system for studying the exerted sense of co-presence and visual behavior of the user compared to a popular business-oriented communication platform. Users reported a higher sense of co-presence in the avatar condition with an increase in whole visual fixations dedicated to the avatars in comparison to their video feed faces during the cooperative task.