Capability for collision avoidance of different user avatars in virtual reality

Virtual Reality applications transfer users into immersive virtual environments, which can be shared with other remote or local users. Yet, multiple local users may collide, since the HMD obscures the view on the other party. To overcome this issue, a user avatar allows to estimate the location of others and to avoid collisions. However, different avatar representations can be used. We compare four avatars in a 28 participant user study. The comparison shows that the different avatars affect the number of collisions and the overall feeling of safety. As a result, local VR collaboration applications should represent the body of the user or highlight his or her location to increase user safety.