Kimoto Mitsuhiko, Otsuka Yohei, Imai Michita, Shiomi Masahiro
Interaction Science Laboratories, ATR, Kyoto, Japan.
Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan.
Front Psychol. 2023 Jun 9;14:1195059. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1195059. eCollection 2023.
Virtual reality (VR) environments are increasingly popular for various applications, and the appearance of virtual characters is a critical factor that influences user behaviors. In this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of avatar and agent appearances on pre-touch proxemics in VR. To achieve this goal, we designed experiments utilizing three user avatars (man/woman/robot) and three virtual agents (man/woman/robot). Specifically, we measured the pre-touch reaction distances to the face and body, which are the distances at which a person starts to feel uncomfortable before being touched. We examined how these distances varied based on the appearances of avatars, agents, and user gender. Our results revealed that the appearance of avatars and agents significantly impacted pre-touch reaction distances. Specifically, those using a female avatar tended to maintain larger distances before their face and body to be touched, and people also preferred greater distances before being touched by a robot agent. Interestingly, we observed no effects of user gender on pre-touch reaction distances. These findings have implications for the design and implementation of VR systems, as they suggest that avatar and agent appearances play a significant role in shaping users' perceptions of pre-touch proxemics. Our study highlights the importance of considering these factors when creating immersive and socially acceptable VR experiences.
虚拟现实（VR）环境在各种应用中越来越受欢迎，虚拟角色的外观是影响用户行为的关键因素。在本研究中，我们旨在调查虚拟化身和智能体外观对VR中触摸前空间距离行为的影响。为实现这一目标，我们设计了实验，使用了三种用户虚拟化身（男性/女性/机器人）和三种虚拟智能体（男性/女性/机器人）。具体而言，我们测量了触摸前对脸部和身体的反应距离，即一个人在被触摸前开始感到不舒服的距离。我们研究了这些距离如何根据虚拟化身、智能体的外观以及用户性别而变化。我们的结果表明，虚拟化身和智能体的外观显著影响触摸前的反应距离。具体来说，使用女性虚拟化身的人在其脸部和身体被触摸前往往会保持更大的距离，而且人们在被机器人智能体触摸前也更喜欢更大的距离。有趣的是，我们观察到用户性别对触摸前反应距离没有影响。这些发现对VR系统的设计和实施具有启示意义，因为它们表明虚拟化身和智能体的外观在塑造用户对触摸前空间距离行为的认知方面起着重要作用。我们的研究强调了在创建沉浸式和社会可接受的VR体验时考虑这些因素的重要性。
