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John Desnoyers-Stewart, Ekaterina R. Stepanova, Pinyao Liu, Alexandra Kitson, Patrick Parra Pennefather, Vladislav Ryzhov, Bernhard E. Riecke
The research explores the use of pseudo-haptics to create an embodied illusion of social touch in virtual reality through a prototype called ETC. It involves interaction patterns that simulate touch using visuals, sounds, and biosignal representation. Initial observations from events and workshops indicate that this approach can foster a subtle yet intimate experience of virtual social connection.
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Abstract
In search of missing tactile sensations in telepresent virtual reality (VR), we set off to explore how we might be able to apply pseudo-haptics to elicit an embodied illusion of social touch. We developed ETC (Embodied Telepresent Connection), a prototype that allows two participants to interact remotely through pseudo-haptic touch via their abstract aura avatars. ETC consists of a set of interaction patterns aimed to elicit an illusion of interpersonal touch using embodied metaphors, simulated physics, integration of visuals and sounds, biosignal representation, and embedded social connotations. We showed ETC at 5 events and 3 workshops, observing participants and gathering feedback from them. Here, we report on our design process and initial observations relating to the experience of virtual social touch. We observed that pseudo-haptics applied to social interaction afford a subtle and somewhat uncanny experience of virtual touch with the potential for intimate embodied connection.
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