System Overview
I partnered with psychologists to build a multi-user Quest application for studying how VR and video conferencing shape group processes, team performance, well-being, and social need fulfillment over time. The VR system supported synchronized interaction among participants, while a separate host-control application managed sessions.
Architecture
VR Client
The Unity/C# Quest application places participants in a shared virtual environment with live avatars.
Networked Interaction Layer
Photon PUN 2 synchronizes voice and avatar animation among users so the group can interact in real time.
Host-Control Layer
A companion Windows and macOS application gives a host control over the research session.
Core Features
- Live multi-user sessions: Participants communicate and interact in the same VR environment.
- Synchronized voice and animation: Audio and avatar behavior support group communication.
- Desktop host control: Researchers can operate sessions from Windows or macOS.
- Research deployment: I trained more than 10 undergraduate assistants to use the platform.
Interaction Pipeline
- A researcher starts and manages a session from the host-control application.
- Participants enter the shared Quest environment.
- Photon PUN 2 synchronizes voice and avatar animation.
- Participants complete group activities while researchers observe the session.
- The study compares group processes across communication settings over time.
Technical and Design Challenges
Enforcing proctor permissions and invitation-only access
Each session needed one proctor operating from a computer while the other participants joined in VR. Only the proctor could modify text on the shared blackboard, allowing participants to view the instructions without changing them. An access-control guardrail blocked uninvited users: invited users received assigned usernames and passwords to enter the session.
Keeping group interaction coherent
Voice and avatar animation had to remain synchronized across multiple participants so the VR condition could support natural group activity.
Making the system usable by research staff
The host-control application and assistant training allowed different operators to run sessions consistently across study visits.