philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Extra Limbs in Virtual Reality Feel Like the Real Thing

... Research teams at the University of Tokyo, Keio University and Toyohashi University of Technology in Japan have developed a virtual robotic limb system which can be operated by users’ feet in a virtual environment as extra, or supernumerary, limbs. After training, users reported feeling like the virtual robotic arms had become part of their own body. This study focused on the perceptual changes of the participants, understanding of which can contribute to designing real physical robotic supernumerary limb systems that people can use naturally and freely just like our own bodies. ...

... this research as a way to explore the limits of human “plasticity” — in other words, our brain’s ability to alter and adapt to external and internal changes. ...

Participants wore a head-mounted display to give them a first-person view of their own arms represented in VR, as well as the additional virtual robotic arms. They then had to perform tasks using only the virtual robotic arms, which were controlled by moving their toes. Tactile devices returned sensations from the virtual robotic arms to the tops and soles of their feet when they touched an object, like a virtual ball. ...

The team also found that the participant’s “peripersonal space” (the area around our bodies which we perceive as being our personal space) extended to include the area around the virtual robotic arms. ...

Next, the team wants to look at the potential for cooperative behavior between participants’ own arms in virtual reality and the virtual robotic arms. ...

See the full story here: https://www.technologynetworks.com/tn/news/extra-limbs-in-virtual-reality-feel-like-the-real-thing-363078