In this paper we investigate user performance and user behavior, related to the issue of who controls the point of view in a remote assistance scenario. We describe an experiment that examined users completing two different tasks with the aid of a remote gesturing device under two conditions: when control of the camera and gesturing point of view was in the hands of the remote helper, and when it was in the hands of the worker. Results indicate that in general, when most of the knowledge is with the helper, it is preferable to leave control in the hands of the helper. However, these results may depend on the situation and task at hand.

In the BEAMING project we have been extending the scope of collaborative mixed reality to include the representation of users in multiple modalities, including augmented reality, situated displays and robots. A single user (a visitor) uses a high-end virtual reality system (the transporter) to be virtually teleported to a real remote location (the destination). The visitor may be tracked in several ways including emotion and motion capture. We reconstruct the destination and the people within it (the locals). In achieving this scenario, BEAMING has integrated many heterogeneous systems. In this paper, we describe the design and key implementation choices in the Beaming Scene Service (BSS), which allows the various processes to coordinate their behaviour. The core of the system is a light-weight shared object repository that allows loose coupling between processes with very different requirements (e.g. embedded control systems through to mobile apps). The system was also extended to support the notion of presence awareness. We demonstrate two complex applications built with the BSS.

TeleAdvisor is a novel solution designed to support remote assistance tasks in many real-world scenarios. It consists of a video camera and a small projector mounted at the end of a tele-operated robotic arm. This enables a remote helper to view and interact with the workers' workspace, while controlling the point of view. It also provides the worker with a hands-free transportable device to be placed anywhere in his or her environment. Active tracking of the projection space is used in order to reliably correlate between the camera's view and the projector space.