A design and evaluation framework for a tele-immersive mixed reality platform

Abstract

Tele-immersive, mixed reality interactive systems bring remote users together to share a common experience in an environment that synthesizes aspects of the real and virtual worlds. The 3D-LIVE platform is an example of one such system that synthesizes 3D models, audio, motion capture and activity from a number of geographically separated sources into a single gaming environment to support a variety of sports based activities. The design and evaluation of such systems is challenging since factors relating to the technical quality of service (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE) are difficult to identify and measure. In this paper we present a novel QoS/QoE model and evaluation methodology that is being used in the development and testing of the 3D-LIVE mixed reality platform. Our initial results provide some insights into the quality of user experience (UX) we observed from users interacting with 3D-LIVE and are evaluated in the light of QoS data captured. We conclude by discussing the impact of these findings on future platform developments.