Evaluating Virtual Embodiment with the ALEx Exoskeleton

The assessment of virtual embodiment has focused primarily on experimental paradigms based on multisensory congruent cues, such as auditory, tactile, visual and motor, mainly due to the technological limitations of haptic feedback. In this work virtual embodiment in an avatar is assessed by means of a new lightweight exoskeleton (ALEx) with a focus on the perception of danger and aggressive behavior. In particular an experiment has been designed assessing the effectiveness of haptic feedback while interacting with an opponent avatar. Experiments are evaluated based on physiological measures and questionnaires.

[1]  Antonio Frisoli,et al.  Illusory perception of arm movement induced by visuo-proprioceptive sensory stimulation and controlled by motor imagery , 2012, 2012 IEEE Haptics Symposium (HAPTICS).

[2]  Maria V. Sanchez-Vives,et al.  First Person Experience of Body Transfer in Virtual Reality , 2010, PloS one.

[3]  Antonio Frisoli,et al.  A new force-feedback arm exoskeleton for haptic interaction in virtual environments , 2005, First Joint Eurohaptics Conference and Symposium on Haptic Interfaces for Virtual Environment and Teleoperator Systems. World Haptics Conference.

[4]  Marco Gillies,et al.  Comparing and Evaluating Real Time Character Engines for Virtual Environments , 2010, PRESENCE: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments.

[5]  Naoki Hashimoto,et al.  Human scale haptic interaction with a reactive virtual human in a realtime physics simulator , 2005, ACE '05.

[6]  Sharif Razzaque,et al.  The Responses of People to Virtual Humans in an Immersive Virtual Environment , 2005, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[7]  Mel Slater,et al.  A first person avatar system with haptic feedback , 2010, VRST '10.

[8]  Antonio Frisoli,et al.  A haptic toolkit for the development of immersive and web-enabled games , 2006, VRST '06.

[9]  M. Slater,et al.  Bystander Responses to a Violent Incident in an Immersive Virtual Environment , 2013, PloS one.

[10]  M. Press.  Presence : teleoperators and virtual environments. , 2014 .

[11]  Norman I. Badler,et al.  Virtual Training via Vibrotactile Arrays , 2008, PRESENCE: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments.

[12]  Tabitha C. Peck,et al.  Putting yourself in the skin of a black avatar reduces implicit racial bias , 2013, Consciousness and Cognition.