Avatar and Sense of Embodiment: Studying the Relative Preference Between Appearance, Control and Point of View

Abstract

In Virtual Reality, a number of studies have been conducted to assess the influence of avatar appearance, avatar control and user point of view on the Sense of Embodiment (SoE) towards a virtual avatar. However, such studies tend to explore each factor in isolation. This paper aims to better understand the inter-relations among these three factors by conducting a subjective matching experiment. In the presented experiment (n=40), participants had to match a given "optimal" SoE avatar configuration (realistic avatar, full-body motion capture, first-person point of view), starting by a "minimal" SoE configuration (minimal avatar, no control, third-person point of view), by iteratively increasing the level of each factor. The choices of the participants provide insights about their preferences and perception over the three factors considered. Moreover, the subjective matching procedure was conducted in the context of four different interaction tasks with the goal of covering a wide range of actions an avatar can do in a VE. The paper also describes a baseline experiment (n=20) which was used to define the number and order of the different levels for each factor, prior to the subjective matching experiment (e.g. different degrees of realism ranging from abstract to personalised avatars for the visual appearance). The results of the subjective matching experiment show that point of view and control levels were consistently increased by users before appearance levels when it comes to enhancing the SoE. Second, several configurations were identified with equivalent SoE as the one felt in the optimal configuration, but vary between the tasks. Taken together, our results provide valuable insights about which factors to prioritize in order to enhance the SoE towards an avatar in different tasks, and about configurations which lead to fulfilling SoE in VE.

On the Plausibility of Virtual Body Animation Features in Virtual Reality

“…Their results indicate a preference for some degree of control early in the experience, often being the first or second feature to be improved. The work of Fribourg et al [22] is distinct, but complementary to what we present here. The authors assessed the relative importance of animation control to the sense of embodiment of a virtual body as a whole.…”

“…One feels embodied due "to the ensemble of sensations that arise in conjunction with being inside, having, and controlling a body" [9] (p. 374). In this context, Fribourg et al [22] employed the experimental methodology proposed by Slater et al [10] to analyze the influence of different factors on the sense of embodiment in a VR experience. Participants were able to set the appearance, the point of view, and the level of control of a selfrepresenting avatar.…”

Construction of the Virtual Embodiment Questionnaire (VEQ)

“…Therefore, self-location may be subject to future extensions or alternatively assessed with implicit measures, such as displacement measures [13], or neurophysiological correlates [35]. However, it is yet unclear how to clearly investigate equivalent perceptual discrepancies of self-location in VR, and thus subject to future work, for example, by manipulating the relation of camera pose and body position [22]. The present findings are also limited by the applied scenarios and the collected sample form and size.…”

“…The present findings are also limited by the applied scenarios and the collected sample form and size. Future work should consequently assess the reliability and consistency of the VEQ, along with its application mirror scenarios [27,53] as well as to different (non-mirror) scenarios, such as user-embodying games [51] and activities [22], different extensions of the form of bodily representation [26], and more abstract avatar types with varying Fig. 9.…”

“…With regard to the impacts of user embodiment, it was argued that a self-representation that is of of similar appearance and shows accurate response to the user's movement (e.g., of body, face, and eye motion) foster the perception of presence [75,85]. Different levels of behavioral realism and accurate motion reconstruction, for example by the fidelity of tracking [67,70], as well as natural or artificially introduced behaviors [22,69] may therefore also influence the perception of embodiment as such.…”