Investigating the Effects of Haptic Illusions in Collaborative Virtual Reality

Yannick Weiss, Julian Rasch, Jonas Fischer, Florian Müller

TVCG 2025

IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics

TL;DR

What we did: We conducted a user study to investigate the effects of visual shape and size illusions on user performance, experience, and behavior during collaborative object handover tasks in Virtual Reality.

What we found: We found that visuo-haptic mismatches negatively impacted both performance and experience, and users adapted to these discrepancies by shifting reliance from visual to haptic cues, but could not fully mitigate the effects of visual inconsistencies.

Takeaway: Our findings provide guidelines for the careful integration of haptic illusions into collaborative Extended Reality systems, emphasizing the importance of managing visual discrepancies and supporting user adaptation strategies.

Abstract

Our sense of touch plays a crucial role in physical collaboration, yet rendering realistic haptic feedback in collaborative extended reality (XR) remains a challenge. Co-located XR systems predominantly rely on prefabricated passive props that provide high-fidelity interaction but offer limited adaptability. Haptic Illusions (HIs), which leverage multisensory integration, have proven effective in expanding haptic experiences in single-user contexts. However, their role in XR collaboration has not been explored. To examine the applicability of HIs in multi-user scenarios, we conducted an experimental user study (N=30) investigating their effect on a collaborative object handover task in virtual reality. We manipulated visual shape and size individually and analyzed their impact on users’ performance, experience, and behavior. Results show that while participants adapted to the illusions by shifting sensory reliance and employing specific sensorimotor strategies, visuo-haptic mismatches reduced both performance and experience. Moreover, mismatched visualizations in asymmetric user roles negatively impacted performance. Drawing from these findings, we provide practical guidelines for incorporating HIs into collaborative XR, marking a first step toward richer haptic interactions in shared virtual spaces.