Assessing the value of a cursor pointing device for remote collaboration on physical tasks

This study assessed the value of a cursor pointer that allows remote collaborators to point to locations in a partner's workspace via a shared video feed. We compared performance with the cursor pointer with that in video-only and side-by-side conditions. Results indicated that participants found the cursor pointer of value for referring to objects and locations in the work environment, but that the pointer did not improve performance time over video-only. We conclude that cursor pointing is valuable for collaboration on physical tasks, but that additional gestural support will be required to make performance using video systems as good as performance working side-by-side.