Beyond Cooperation: Three-Way Body Transfer Illusions For Physical Play

Abstract

Video is often used to give people sensations or insights into another person’s perspective via providing real-time feeds of first-person viewpoints. Less explored is rapid and dynamic perspective changing that can make it uncertain for users whether or not they are viewing a direct feed, and if they are viewing themselves or another. We present a 3- person wireless headset system developed as part of an investigation into new forms of collaborative physical play. Each headset incorporates an external video camera and an internal screen that provides its wearers with visual information. Camera transmissions are rapidly and automatically switched to be received by different headsets, thus providing wearers with continuous cycling through 2nd and 3rd person perspectives. By asking participants to join a simple collaborative task in a shared physical space but dislocating their sense of sight, the system explores the interdependencies of users’ actions and their communication in an unusual configuration.