Abstract
Human body augmentation makes it possible to obtain new abilities that we cannot achieve with our actual bodies. A projected virtual hand interface is a promising approach for body augmentation because it can extend a user’s reach in daily life without the need to wear a device. Although users can manipulate a projected virtual hand as if it were their own hand and can interact with distant objects through it, they cannot feel the sensation of touch when the projected virtual hand is overlaid on a real object. In this paper, we propose a novel pseudo-haptic feedback framework to provide users with the tactile texture of objects without the use of haptic devices. We designed three types of visual effects that produce unevenness, slipperiness, and softness. The experimental results indicate that the proposed visual effects can lead users to feel the intended tactile sensation. Furthermore, the visual effects provide users with tactile sensations with three to five levels of intensity without producing a strange feeling.
Highlights
Human augmentation technology has the potential to enable us to perform tasks efficiently and provide us with abilities that our bodies cannot attain
We propose a pseudo-haptic method for making a user feel tactile sensations in a projected virtual hand interface by adding a visual effect to the projected virtual hand
SUFFICIENCY OF VISUAL EFFECTS (EXPERIMENT A) We investigated whether our proposed visual effects led users to feel our intended tactile sensations under the unique condition of the projected virtual hand interface in which a real object below was visible through
Summary
Human augmentation technology has the potential to enable us to perform tasks efficiently and provide us with abilities that our bodies cannot attain. MetaArms [2] are wearable robotic arms that allow a user to perform complex tasks that are not possible with the user’s body alone. By using robotic bodies for human augmentation, a user can work efficiently and physically interact with real objects. The physical size of robot bodies limits the range of user operation, and changing the structure and function of robot bodies is not simple. To tackle these problems, promising methods include interfaces that virtually augment the body using virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR).
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have