  Human-computer symbiosis is a crucial direction for the development of
artificial intelligence. As intelligent systems become increasingly prevalent
in our work and personal lives, it is important to develop strategies to
support users across physical and virtual environments. While technological
advances in personal digital devices, such as personal computers and virtual
reality devices, can provide immersive experiences, they can also disrupt
users' awareness of their surroundings and enhance the frustration caused by
disturbances. In this paper, we propose a joint observation strategy for
artificial agents to support users across virtual and physical environments. We
introduce a prototype system, neighbor-environment observer (NEO), that
utilizes non-invasive sensors to assist users in dealing with disruptions to
their immersive experience. System experiments evaluate NEO from different
perspectives and demonstrate the effectiveness of the joint observation
strategy. A user study is conducted to evaluate its usability. The results show
that NEO could lessen users' workload with the learned user preference. We
suggest that the proposed strategy can be applied to various smart home
scenarios.
