Although online interactive platforms, such as esports sites, intend to foster strong connections among users, they often fail to adequately facilitate true bonding between individuals. Researchers have found that sharing biological signals, or biosignals, like heart rate information during online gaming can strengthen the feeling of cooperative play, even among those who are not already acquainted.
Online communication technologies are designed to bring individuals closer together. However, they often do not fully satisfy the human desire for engaging social interactions. A key element that’s often missing is a feeling of social presence, or the “sense of being together with someone else.” This feeling can arise during mediated interactions, such as through video conferencing or gaming.
Investigators from the University of Tsukuba have discovered a way to enhance social presence in online interactions by sharing biosignals. Biosignals, such as heart rate, can provide significant insights into a person’s emotional state. For example, increased heart rates may indicate anxiety, while lower rates may signify relaxation.
The team created a real-time biosignal-sharing platform and tested it during online gaming sessions involving players who were unfamiliar with one another.
The study included 20 gamers who participated in a series of five matches of a soccer video game, each against a different opponent. The matches were executed under various conditions: playing online without any opponent information, playing while watching a live video of the opponent’s face, viewing the opponent’s heart rate data, watching both the live video and the heart rate information together, and playing offline in the same physical space as the opponent.
Results indicated that sharing biosignals could enhance the sense of social presence. Participants frequently checked their opponent’s heart rate during gameplay, much like they would check an opponent’s facial expressions when shown. This effect was even stronger when both the live video and heart rate data were accessible together.
To gauge the perceived level of social presence, questionnaires were given to participants. Although the sharing method did not reach the same social presence level as playing side by side in-person, the combination of video and biosignal information came closest to this ideal scenario.
In an age dominated by virtual meetings where individuals are reduced to mere grid-like representations, this research offers a strategy for enhancing online interactions to make them more significant and satisfying.
This research received support from the Interdisciplinary R&D Project at the University of Tsukuba. Additional funding was provided in part by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI under grants 21H03475 and 24K03321, as well as by The Toyota Foundation under grant D20-ST-0034, and by the Japan Science and Technology Agency SPRING under grant JPMJSP2124.
