A Comparative Study of Using Augmented vs Virtual Reality in Collaborative Tasks

Extended Reality (XR) technologies offer many possibilities to support collaboration between remote and local team members. However, in a scenario with multiple devices and multiple interaction options, including virtual, augmented and the continuum of realities among them, it is still unclear how to select the right option to make collaboration more efficient. To provide some design insights in this context, this paper presents a comparative study of collaboration behaviours and outcomes when using different XR technologies, where X stands for Virtual or Augmented. In our experimental setup, pairs of users collaborated on three tasks drawn from visual analytics, each designed to require a different level of synchronization: low, medium, and high. We conducted a study with 40 participants (20 dyads), who performed tasks in two conditions: Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). All used the same equipment and interactions; only the immersive environment differed. The results suggest that collaboration outcomes differed only in high-coupling tasks, with AR showing a performance advantage. This may stem from a greater difficulty of synchronizing actions when perceiving a partner through avatars rather than directly. However, no significant differences were observed in collaboration dynamics, and the choice of XR technology did not appear to affect collaboration patterns. These findings suggest that, for collaborative analytical tasks comparable to those in this study, collaborators can choose the XR mode that best fits their preferences and current needs without concern about hindering teamwork.