Collaborative AR Whiteboarding System

This project investigated how the level of user control during the initialization of a shared AR whiteboarding session affects the overall collaboration experience. We designed and evaluated three initialization techniques — MANUAL, DISCRETE CHOICE, and AUTOMATIC — using a simulated AR environment built in VR on the Meta Quest 2.

The system allowed two remote collaborators to establish a shared virtual whiteboard within their respective physical environments, synchronizing avatar positions, gaze direction, and pointer interactions across both spaces. We developed C-SAW (Collaborative Surface Algorithm for Whiteboarding), a set of heuristics for intelligently suggesting whiteboard placements that respect the constraints of each collaborator’s environment.

A user study with 36 participants found that collaborators preferred having direct control over whiteboard placement, size, and shape, even when automated suggestions were available.

Stack: Unity, C#, Photon PUN 2, Meta Quest 2

Publication: Exploring the Effects of Level of Control in the Initialization of Shared Whiteboarding Sessions in Collaborative Augmented Reality — IEEE VR 2025