Using Pseudo-Stiffness to Enrich the Haptic Experience in Virtual Reality

Yannick Weiss, Steeven Villa, Albrecht Schmidt, Sven Mayer, Florian Müller

CHI 2023

Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

TL;DR

What we did: We designed a novel technique for altering the perceived stiffness of objects in Virtual Reality by manipulating the Control-to-Display ratio while users press down on a fixed stiffness object.

What we found: We found that our technique allows objects to be perceived as up to 28.1% softer and 8.9% stiffer without users detecting the manipulation of their hand movements.

Takeaway: This approach has significant implications for enhancing haptic feedback in Virtual Reality applications, providing a cost-effective option for improving user immersion and interaction with virtual environments.

Abstract

Providing users with a haptic sensation of the hardness and softness of objects in virtual reality is an open challenge. While physical props and haptic devices help, their haptic properties do not allow for dynamic adjustments. To overcome this limitation, we present a novel technique for changing the perceived stiffness of objects based on a visuo-haptic illusion. We achieved this by manipulating the hands’ Control-to-Display (C/D) ratio in virtual reality while pressing down on an object with fixed stiffness. In the first study (N=12), we determine the detection thresholds of the illusion. Our results show that we can exploit a C/D ratio from 0.7 to 3.5 without user detection. In the second study (N=12), we analyze the illusion’s impact on the perceived stiffness. Our results show that participants perceive the objects to be up to 28.1% softer and 8.9% stiffer, allowing for various haptic applications in virtual reality.

Abstract

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