We propose a multi-user Mixed Reality (MR) telepresence system that allows users to interact by seamlessly visualizing remote environments and avatars overlaid onto their local physical space. Building on prior shared-space approaches, our method first aligns overlapping rooms to maximize a shared space –a common area containing matched real and virtual objects where all users can interact. Uniquely, our system extends beyond this shared space by visualizing non-shared spaces, the remaining part of each room, allowing users to inhabit these distinct areas. To address the issue of overlap between non-shared spaces, we dynamically adjust their visibility based on user proximity, using a Voronoi diagram to prioritize subspaces closer to each user. Visualizing the surrounding space of each user conveys spatial context, helping others interpret their behavior within their environment. Visibility is updated in real time as users move, maintaining a coherent sense of spatial awareness. Through a user study, we demonstrate that our system enhances enjoyment, spatial understanding, and presence compared to shared-space-only approaches. Quantitative results further show that our dynamic visibility modulation improves both personal space preservation and space accessibility relative to static methods. Overall, our system provides users with a seamless, dynamically connected, and shared multi-room environment. We provide an system overview and demo video of our work in the supplementary material.

Recent studies utilized virtual reality (VR) as an "empathy machine" to mitigate bias towards various social groups. However, studies addressing bias against physical disabilities remain scarce, with inconsistent results based on VR experience design. Moreover, most studies assumed the universal effects of VR simulation on bias reduction, ignoring the potential moderating effects of individual characteristics. This study investigated how experience design components and individual characteristics moderate VR simulation's effect on changes in bias towards physical disabilities. We designed a VR wheelchair experience, manipulating the situational context (negative, neutral) and whole-body avatar visualization (visible, invisible). Participants' implicit and explicit bias levels were assessed to examine the changes according to VR design components and individual characteristics (gender, preexisting bias level). Results indicated that following the VR intervention, implicit bias was reduced in the group with higher preexisting bias but rather increased in the group with lower preexisting bias. In addition, gender interacted with avatar visualization such that male participants' implicit bias was reduced with invisible avatars but increased with visible avatars. Explicit bias, in contrast, was reduced regardless of conditions, suggesting the potential response bias in self-report measures. These findings underscore the importance of considering the complex interplay between experience design and individual characteristics in understanding VR's efficacy as an empathy-inducing tool. This study provides insights and guidelines for developing more effective VR interventions to alleviate implicit bias towards physical disabilities.

Virtual museums are increasingly used to present cultural and educational content, often relying on textual descriptions to convey essential information. However, when users interact with text objects in virtual environments, the optimal text segment quantity for readability and comprehension remains unclear, especially when social distractions such as other visitors are present. This study investigated the effects of text segment quantity and the presence of other visitors on text readability and comprehension in the context of virtual museums. Participants read exhibit descriptions under four text-segment length conditions (1, 2, 4, and 8 lines) with or without simulated visitor agents. The results indicated that readability and comprehension were maximized when text was presented in intermediate segmentation lengths (2 and 4 Lines), while both excessively short (1 line) and long (8 lines) text segments hindered reading performance. Additionally, a significant interaction between text length and the presence of visitors was observed. Specifically, the presence of visitors led to increased comprehension task completion times only in the intermediate segmentation conditions, suggesting that social presence imposes an additional cognitive demand as social distractions in optimal text segment conditions. These findings provide empirical guidelines for designing effective text-based information systems in virtual museums, optimizing both user engagement and learning outcomes in immersive cultural environments.