Collaboration in Immersive and Non-immersive Virtual Environments

This chapter reviews contemporary research on virtual collaboration. In particular, we focus on synchronous communication and collaboration processes in virtual conferencing environments. In a virtual conference, interactants are geographically distant but their avatars (virtual representations) appear in the same virtual conference room. Two types of virtual collaboration are examined. First, we review new findings on research in immersive virtual conferencing. Next, we review recent findings on social interaction in non-immersive virtual conferencing. Specifically, we examine the impact of social interaction on these communication technologies. Finally, we conclude with speculation about the future trends in virtual collaboration.