Clarification of Unstable Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Pseudo-Haptics and Development of Stabilization Control Methods for Practical Use

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21H03478
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 61020:Human interface and interaction-related
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Ban Yuki 東京大学, 大学院新領域創成科学研究科, 特任講師 (20789391)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 割澤 伸一 東京大学, 大学院新領域創成科学研究科, 教授 (20262321) ; 宇治土公 雄介 日本電信電話株式会社NTTコミュニケーション科学基礎研究所, 人間情報研究部, 研究員 (30898474)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: Pseudo-haptics / クロスモーダル / バーチャルリアリティ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, we constructed an online experimental environment to elucidate the dependency of the Pseudo-haptics effect on the characteristics of the user and the duration of use, with a view to the engineering application of the Pseudo-haptics effect. We investigated the influence of individual characteristics such as age and gender, as well as the habituation effect due to long-term use. The results revealed that the Pseudo-haptics effect is less likely to occur in older individuals and those with lower visual and haptic self-localization abilities, and that the illusion effect diminishes with long-term use. Additionally, we confirmed that the illusion effect can be enhanced by increasing the sense of immersion in avatars, manipulating the appearance of virtual objects, and combining the effect with the pulling force illusion. The findings of this study provide important insights for designing VR experiences using Pseudo-haptics.

Free Research Field

バーチャルリアリティ

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は，Pseudo-hapticsの効果を左右する要因として，これまで考慮されてこなかった提示対象者の特性や提示時間の影響を体系的に明らかにした点で大きな学術的意義を有する．加えて，アバターへの没入感の操作やバーチャル物体の見た目の工夫，振動刺激との複合提示により，個人差を吸収しつつ錯覚効果を増強する手法を確立した．これらの成果により，Pseudo-hapticsの効果を安定的に提示できる可能性が示され，様々な体験者に対して違和感の無い触覚提示が可能になると期待される．加えて，Pseudo-hapticsを活用したコンテンツの実用化を促進する点で大きな社会的意義を有する．