Multimodal "Sensory Illusions" for Improving Spatial Awareness in Virtual Environments

Abstract

Inaccurate judgement of distances in virtual environments (VEs) restricts their usefulness for engineering development, in which engineers must have a good understanding of the spaces they are designing. Multimodal feedback can improve depth perception in VEs, but this has yet to be implemented and tested in engineering applications with systems which provide haptic feedback to the body.The project reported in this paper will develop a multimodal VE to improve engineers' understanding of 3D spaces. It will test the concept of "sensory illusions" where the point of collision in the VE differs to the point of haptic feedback on the body. This will permit the use of fewer vibrotactile devices and therefore the development of a more wearable system. This paper describes related work in multisensory and tactile stimulation which suggests that our perception of a stimulus is not fixed to the point of contact.

Tactile and kinesthetic feedbacks improve distance perception in virtual reality

“…They also note that when all three modalities are present together, any individual modality can dominate depending on its intensity compared to the other modalities. According to Lawson et al there is also the possibility that multiple stimuli could conflict and thus reduce spatial awareness [15]. This claim is further backed up by a study in the field of neuroscience, in which it was found that visual stimuli could be suppressed by accurate haptic stimuli [17].…”

“…Prior research shows that a problem [13] exists where humans inaccurately perceive the depth of objects in virtual environments [8]. The reasons are summarized by Lawson et al [15], which in turn are drawn from Renner et al's research [20]. In essence, the problem of depth perception distortion is highly complex, and has yet to be fully resolved.…”

“…Further research has found that the use of combined, or multimodal, sensory information (visual, aural, tactile) improves virtual environment presence and immersion [23], [12] and has a positive effect on depth perception [15], [9]. Hecht and Reiner suggest that audio and haptic stimuli are dominated by visual stimuli when only one or the other is coupled with the visual stimuli, but not both [11] and are more likely to go unnoticed.…”

“…Haptics, or tactile interaction, as a modality in virtual environments is under-researched in comparison to others [15], [7], [3]. Azmandian et al note that "studies have shown that using haptics can lead to significantly increased presence and spatial knowledge training transfer" [3].…”

Virtual Transcendence Experiences

“…In order to promote a virtual "transcendent" state, users might rely on sensorial illusions. Sensorial illusion is a key element in multi-sensory environments and it can be conveyed by the use of haptic devices, in order to make users understand their spatial awareness [2]. However, the concept of VTE goes beyond just connecting people into devices; it brings a new paradigm.…”