Inter-Brain Synchronization in Collaborative Virtual Reality

Previous research has thoroughly investigated inter-brain synchrony in real-world contexts, such as interactions between mothers and infants, romantic partners, and workplace colleagues. However, despite the growing prevalence of Virtual Reality (VR) in fields like education, industry, and entertainment, inter-brain synchrony within VR remains unexplored. (General objective) This PhD research aims to examine interbrain synchrony during VR-based collaboration, employing a hyperscanning technique. (Methods-objectives) Four experiments were conducted to investigate the objectives of this research. As no prior studies had used hyperscanning in VR, Experiment 1 replicated a real-world study (finger pointing and tracking exercise) and extended into VR, assessing the applicability of hyperscanning for observing inter-brain synchrony in VR. Experiments 2 and 3 integrated eye tracking into VR, using a similar finger task to investigate the influence of gaze direction on inter-brain synchrony and to examine its connection with the perceived social presence in VEs. Experiment 4 used a collaboration task (finding a box with the right letter-number combination) and different avatars to study the effect of avatar types (realistic vs non-realistic) on inter-brain connections and social presence in VR. (Results) The experiment findings suggest that VR can induce inter-brain synchrony comparable to that in the real world. Communication cues, such as gaze and finger pointing, can trigger inter-brain synchrony in VR. Moreover, different avatar types significantly affect the correlational score between inter-brain connections and the sense of co-presence. (Implications) This pioneering research demonstrates the feasibility of applying hyperscanning in VR, offering a novel approach for assessing the sense of "connection" between individuals during virtual communication by examining inter-brain synchrony. Additionally, it lays the groundwork for exploring non-physical human connections. The results hold substantial implications for enhancing the efficacy of remote collaboration in VR.

Name thesis:degree_name

PhD

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Bioengineering

Grantor dc:publisher

ResearchSpace@Auckland

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Gumilar, Ihshan

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Billinghurst, Mark
• Nanayakkara, Suranga
• Barde, Amit

Statement dc:rights

• Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2292/68632

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:researchspace.auckland.ac.nz:2292/68632