Thomas RINNERT Thesis Defense

Abstract: This thesis focuses on exploiting Extended Reality (XR) technologies to enhance teamwork, whether teams share a physical space or work remotely. Building on previous work in the field of Computer Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW), the contributions presented in this thesis address a broad spectrum of XR environments, Augmented (AR), Virtual (VR) and Mixed Reality (MR), suitable for various domains such as Industry 4.0, defense, healthcare and education. The proposed solutions aim to augment individuals with visualizations that depict both their performance and well-being, facilitating better understanding between collaborators, enabling them to respond effectively to each other's needs and promoting mutual assistance. The thesis is divided into three acts: firstly, the study of the impact of peer-to-peer status sharing on collaboration awareness; secondly, the exploration of the benefits of sharing team members' status with leaders to improve task allocation; and finally, the proposal of the presentation of team members' predicted status to leaders for further optimization of task allocation. The methodological and experimental contributions presented aim to inform the design of future XR workspaces with increased collaboration awareness.