## 5 Discussion  
The integration of digital content with the real world using mixed reality devices has started to make its way into our society. Although XR technology has not yet become very accessible, it has shown great promise in the industrial sector, as well as in remote collaboration. There are numerous studies on automated driving and mixed reality experiences, but none address both subjects together. In a transition period towards highly and fully autonomous vehicles, the current study aimed to add knowledge regarding the interaction with a 3D augmented avatar while engaged in an autonomous driving system. As we spend more time commuting, with an average of 30 to 60 min per day one-way [61; 62; 63], the need to take control of our time becomes imperative. Thus, the tasks that may or may not be performed while in the car will be of utmost importance. Social presence becomes a critical factor in assessing how this new driving approach could be fully accepted. An important aspect that could boost the adoption of the Metaverse is ensuring the applications offer high levels of social presence besides well-designed user interfaces. Therefore, we conducted a user study that examined social presence during two different scenarios: baseline and mixed reality collaboration. The subjective responses showed that the interaction with the virtual avatar is preferred by the users. Significant statistical differences were found in three of the six constructs: Co-presence, where we observed that the dynamic interaction increased the sense of presence, Perceived Emotional Interdependence appeared to be influenced by the avatar representation and the duration of the study, and Perceived Behavioral Interdependence increased due to the interactive tasks. An interesting note can be made about the increased value for the Perceived Message Understanding, which was influenced by the enhanced audio and video quality of the interaction. This confirms the idea that the paraverbal (audio) and non-verbal (visual) language play a key role in enhancing the sense of social presence in AR interactions as an interpersonal relationship. The results could have also been influenced by the novelty of the mixed reality interaction with an animated, 3D avatar.  
The results also show that the participants were more likely to interact with the avatar in the AR environment than using video conference systems. The use of personal electronic devices like smartphones in autonomous driving can lead to a feeling of social isolation, as people are not experiencing effective collaboration. AR headsets can provide a more immersive experience, allowing the user to feel as if they are interacting with the remote collaborator rather than simply looking at him, as video conferencing does. Immersive virtual avatars can create a high degree of social presence by making it feel like the person you are communicating with is right in front of you. They can also help to create a more realistic and engaging experience, which is important for effective collaboration. AR Metaverse environments can enable passengers of future autonomous vehicles to use their travel time in new and productive ways by augmenting their real environment with digital content that allows for interactive experiences. However, more emphasis should be placed on the environmental conditions of the interaction, as the [PERSON] and Biocca questionnaire seems to overlook this aspect and focus only on the interaction itself, an issue confirmed by another study [64].