Communication tool in virtual reality – A telepresence alternative : An alternative to telepresence – bringing the shared space to a virtual environment in virtual reality

Videoconferencing is one of the most common telepresence methods today and educational videos is rising in popularity among distance learners. Traditional videoconferencing is unable to convey gestures and mutual eye contact between participants. This study aim to propose a Virtual Reality telepresence solution using game engines. A literature study confirmed the effectiveness achieved in VR is comparable to the effectiveness in face-to-face meetings. The suggested solution implements whiteboard functionality from a real-life perspective, confirming it is possible to include new functionality and directly transfer old functionality to the VR system from the communication systems today. The system was evaluated based on the response time, packet loss, bandwidth, frame rate and through user tests. The evaluation shows it is possible to design a telepresence system with VR capable of passing the Turing Test for Telepresence. The participants of the user tests did not experience discomfort and they were positively inclined to the telepresence system. Though, discomfort may emerge if the VR character is used with a common office workstation. Future studies in this topic would involve modifications of the third person camera, making the head's rotation follow the direction of the camera view and implementing movable eye pupils on the VR character using the upcoming eye-tracking accessory