Virtual Hand Illusion Induced by Suction Pressure Stimulation to the Face
摘要
The body ownership toward avatars in virtual environments is a key factor for enhancing the quality of virtual reality experiences. Despite previous beliefs that spatiotemporal congruence of visuo-motor and visuo-tactile stimulation was essential for inducing body ownership, this paper shows that body ownership can occur with spatial incongruence of visuo-tactile stimulation, specifically when tactile stimuli are applied to the face. We developed a suction pressure stimulation display system integrated with a head-mounted display in an immersive virtual environment, where tactile feedback corresponded to the interaction between a virtual hand and virtual object. Three tactile stimulation conditions were compared: no tactile feedback, stimulation to the fingertips, and stimulation to the face. In an experiment involving ten participants, we observed that body ownership was induced with tactile feedback provided to the fingertips or face. These results indicate that body ownership can be induced even under a large spatial incongruence between visuo-tactile stimulation, and provide insights for designing tactile displays that present tactile stimuli to different body parts.