Older and younger adults' perceptions of augmented reality photorealistic avatars as a viable medium for interpersonal communication.

Background and objectives: Augmented reality (AR) telepresence is a novel interactive communication modality that maps a user's 3D photorealistic avatar to another user's physical environment. However, AR's application with older adult populations is understudied. As such, we examined young and older adults' perceptions of utilizing this modality for social communication. Additionally, we tested the participants' ability to recognize 6 common emotions displayed by 3D photorealistic avatars compared to video clips of real people, examining whether age differences existed in communication perceptions and emotion recognition accuracy.

Research design and methods: To assess participants' perceptions, older (n = 31) and younger (n = 31) adults interacted with a volunteer's 3D photorealistic avatar using a structured conversational activity through a head-mounted display (HMD). Participants rated the quality of the HMD-AR communication based on physical and human realism, comfort while talking to the avatar, and the degree of social presence offered by the HMD-AR. Participants then identified 6 basic emotions exhibited by (1) video clips of a real person and (2) an animation of their 3D photorealistic avatars via an HMD. Each participant viewed a total of 36 video and avatar stimuli. Subgroup analyses were conducted by age group.

Results: Participants reported a positive communication experience with the 3D photorealistic avatar, with older adults rating the quality higher. Ratings were generally lowest for how life-like the model appeared (68% younger adults; 61% older adults). Most younger participants (93%) were able to accurately identify nonverbal emotions displayed by the avatar; older adults had less overall accuracy (80%).

Discussion and implications: Participants, including older adults, were enthusiastic regarding AR telepresence for interpersonal communication. Most were able to accurately identify emotions displayed by the 3D photorealistic avatars, although younger adults outperformed older adults. Further technology development will likely enhance the quality of AR communication for everyday use.