Frontiers in Virtual Reality (Oct 2022)

Ubiq-exp: A toolkit to build and run remote and distributed mixed reality experiments

  • Anthony Steed,
  • Lisa Izzouzi ,
  • Klara Brandstätter ,
  • Sebastian Friston,
  • Ben Congdon ,
  • Otto Olkkonen,
  • Daniele Giunchi ,
  • Nels Numan ,
  • David Swapp 

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2022.912078
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 3

Abstract

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Developing mixed-reality (MR) experiments is a challenge as there is a wide variety of functionality to support. This challenge is exacerbated if the MR experiment is multi-user or if the experiment needs to be run out of the lab. We present Ubiq-Exp - a set of tools that provide a variety of functionality to facilitate distributed and remote MR experiments. We motivate our design and tools from recent practice in the field and a desire to build experiments that are easier to reproduce. Key features are the ability to support supervised and unsupervised experiments, and a variety of tools for the experimenter to facilitate operation and documentation of the experimental sessions. We illustrate the potential of the tools through three small-scale pilot experiments. Our tools and pilot experiments are released under a permissive open-source license to enable developers to appropriate and develop them further for their own needs.

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