Examining User Performance in the presence of Latency and Jitter in Distributed Interactive Applications

Latency and jitter inherently limit the maintenance of consistency in Distributed Interactive Applications such as computer games, distributed whiteboards and real-time, collaborative environments. Although there has been much research into methods for maintaining consistency, there is a distinct lack of research exploring the connection between latency, jitter and the end user experience in Distributed Interactive Applications. We have developed an application that allows us to conduct trials under controlled latency and jitter conditions. This provides data, which can be analysed to characterise how people adapt to various degrees of latency and jitter. We present results that highlight how an increase in latency and jitter affect the end-user experience, thus confirming the need for techniques to combat latency and jitter in Distributed Interactive Applications. We alsoe note that the effects of jitter are significantly greater than those of latency