Digital Cloning for an Increased Feeling of Presence in Collaborative Virtual Reality Environments

Embodying an avatar in virtual reality (VR) experiences is very important to reach a high feeling of presence. This is even more important in a collaborative VR scenario where multiple users must interact to achieve a certain task. In this paper, we present a new VR platform combining 3D body scanning, motion capture and head mounted display allowing people to walk freely in a virtual environment, look at their own body, and interact with other users and physical objects. Instead of being represented by generic avatars, users can embody a digital clone of themselves obtained by a 3D scanner.