Spatialized Vibrotactile Feedback Improves Goal-Directed Movements in Cluttered Virtual Environments

ABSTRACT

Spatial awareness in virtual reality (VR) is a dominant research topic. It plays an essential role in the assessment of human operators’ behavior in simulated tasks, notably for the evaluation of the feasibility of manual maintenance tasks in cluttered industrial settings. In such contexts, it is decisive to evaluate the spatial and temporal correspondence between the operator’s movement kinematics and that of his/her virtual avatar in the virtual environment (VE). Often, in a cluttered VE, direct kinesthetic (force) feedback is limited or absent. We tested whether vibrotactile (cutaneous) feedback would increase visuo-proprioceptive consistency, spatial awareness, and thus the validity of VR studies, by augmenting the perception of the operator’s contact(s) with virtual objects. We present experimental results obtained using a head-mounted display (HMD) during a goal-directed task in a cluttered VE. Results suggest the contribution of spatialized vibrotactile feedback to visuo-proprioceptive consistency.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the CRVM (www.crvm.eu) team for decisive assistance in the experimental process. We thank Vincent Perrot, Caroline Chabal, and Yves Soulabaille from the CEA DETC for their involvement in the project. We also want to thank Laurent Chodorge, Claude Andriot, and the CEA LIST team for the assistance with the XDE physics engine.

Additional information

Funding

Céphise Louison is supported by a doctoral grant form CEA.

Notes on contributors

Céphise Louison

Céphise Louison received the engineering degree in computer science from the University of Technology of Compiègne in 2014. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the Institute of Movement in Marseille and at the CEA, the French Atomic Energy Agency. His research topics include the study of human behavior with VR system and the development of haptic devices.

Fabien Ferlay

Fabien Ferlay is a research engineer in the CEA, the French Atomic Energy Agency. He designs and builds mechanical parts for fusion plants using VR as an advanced tool. His major research interest concerns VR with haptic.

Daniel R. Mestre

Daniel R. Mestre is a senior researcher in the Institute of Movement in Marseilles. He is Head of the Mediterranean Virtual Reality Center and founding member of the French Association for VR. His major research interests concern active visual motion perception. VR is used as an experimental tool to understand human behavior.