Abstract
The feeling of embodiment, i.e., experiencing the body as belonging to oneself and being able to integrate objects into one's bodily self-representation, is a key aspect of human self-consciousness and has been shown to importantly shape human cognition. An extension of such feelings toward robots has been argued as being crucial for assistive technologies aiming at restoring, extending, or simulating sensorimotor functions. Empirical and theoretical work illustrates the importance of sensory feedback for the feeling of embodiment and also immersion; we focus on the the perceptual level of touch and the role of tactile feedback in various assistive robotic devices. We critically review how different facets of tactile perception in humans, i.e., affective, social, and self-touch, might influence embodiment. This is particularly important as current assistive robotic devices – such as prostheses, orthoses, exoskeletons, and devices for teleoperation–often limit touch low-density and spatially constrained haptic feedback, i.e., the mere touch sensation linked to an action. Here, we analyze, discuss, and propose how and to what degree tactile feedback might increase the embodiment of certain robotic devices, e.g., prostheses, and the feeling of immersion in human-robot interaction, e.g., in teleoperation. Based on recent findings from cognitive psychology on interactive processes between touch and embodiment, we discuss technical solutions for specific applications, which might be used to enhance embodiment, and facilitate the study of how embodiment might alter human-robot interactions. We postulate that high-density and large surface sensing and stimulation are required to foster embodiment of such assistive devices.
Highlights
Due to recent societal trends and technical improvements, assistive robots, i.e., devices that enable or support the performance of a functional task, have gained increased importance in various applications such as prostheses, orthoses, exoskeletons, and devices for teleoperation (Dollar and Herr, 2008; Beckerle et al, 2017; Veneman et al, 2017; Fani et al, 2018)
This paper points out the importance of various facets if tactile feedback for the embodiment of assistive robotic devices
Self-touch, affective touch, and social touch should be considered as they modulate embodiment on different levels and concern psychosocial factors that determine how the device will be used in real life
Summary
Due to recent societal trends and technical improvements, assistive robots, i.e., devices that enable or support the performance of a functional task, have gained increased importance in various applications such as prostheses, orthoses, exoskeletons, and devices for teleoperation (Dollar and Herr, 2008; Beckerle et al, 2017; Veneman et al, 2017; Fani et al, 2018). Low speed tactile stimulation that activates specific fibers and is associated with positive feelings, i.e., affective touch (Löken et al, 2009), was observed to increase illusory ownership of a rubber hand (Crucianelli et al, 2013, 2017; van Stralen et al, 2014) These results suggest subtle and complex influences of multi-faceted tactile information on the sense of self and the integration of an external object into the person’s bodily self-representation. The majority of contemporary tactile feedback techniques, focus on low-density and spatially constrained tactile feedback related to active touch of external objects typically through fingers and hand (Antfolk et al, 2013b; Schofield et al, 2014; Svensson et al, 2017; Stephens-Fripp et al, 2018) This does by no means cover all facets of tactile afferent signals humans typically get from their body when interacting with their environment. The subsequent sections discuss potential technologies and applications of high-density bidirectional interfaces with tactile stimulation over large surfaces and their relation to bodily self-experience
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