School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.
Psychol Res. 2022 Sep;86(6):1847-1857. doi: 10.1007/s00426-021-01613-3. Epub 2021 Oct 28.
The current generation of virtual reality (VR) technologies has improved substantially from legacy systems, particularly in the resolution and latency of their visual display. The presentation of haptic cues remains challenging, however, because haptic systems do not generalise well over the range of stimuli (both tactile and proprioceptive) normally present when interacting with objects in the world. This study investigated whether veridical tactile and proprioceptive cues lead to more efficient interaction with a virtual environment. Interaction in the world results in spatial and temporal correlation of tactile, proprioceptive and visual cues. When cues in VR are similarly correlated, observers experience a sense of embodiment and agency of their avatars. We investigated whether sensorimotor performance was mediated by embodiment of the avatar hands. Participants performed a Fitts' tapping task in different conditions (VR with no haptics, active haptics, passive haptics, and on a real touchscreen). The active-haptic condition provided abstract tactile cues and the passive haptic condition provided veridical tactile and proprioceptive cues. An additional (hybrid haptics) condition simulated an ideal passive haptic system. Movement efficiency (throughput) and embodiment were higher for the passive than for the active and no-haptics conditions. However, components of embodiment (perceived agency and ownership) did not predict unique variance in throughput. Improved sensorimotor performance and ratings of presence and realism support the use of passive haptics in VR environments where objects are in known and stable locations, regardless of whether performance was mediated by the sense of embodiment.
当前一代虚拟现实 (VR) 技术在分辨率和视觉显示延迟方面已经比传统系统有了实质性的改进。然而，触觉提示的呈现仍然具有挑战性，因为触觉系统在与世界上的物体交互时，不能很好地泛化各种刺激（包括触觉和本体感觉）。本研究探讨了真实触觉和本体感觉提示是否会导致与虚拟环境的更有效交互。在现实世界中，交互会导致触觉、本体感觉和视觉提示的空间和时间相关性。当 VR 中的提示具有相似的相关性时，观察者会体验到化身的存在感和自主性。我们研究了传感器运动性能是否受到化身手的体现的影响。参与者在不同条件下（无触觉 VR、主动触觉、被动触觉和真实触摸屏）执行 Fitts 敲击任务。主动触觉条件提供抽象的触觉提示，而被动触觉条件提供真实的触觉和本体感觉提示。另一个（混合触觉）条件模拟了理想的被动触觉系统。与主动和无触觉条件相比，被动条件下的运动效率（吞吐量）和体现更高。然而，体现的组成部分（感知的自主性和所有权）并没有预测吞吐量的独特变化。传感器运动性能的提高以及存在感和真实性的评分支持在 VR 环境中使用被动触觉，无论性能是否由存在感介导，只要物体处于已知且稳定的位置即可。
