Virtual Tool Expression Focused on Shadow to Create a Sense of Integration with User's Body

Abstract

The goal of this research is to study an expression technique which creates a feeling as if the virtual tool became a part of body when a user exploited the tool. For that purpose, a novel expression is required to create a presence of a virtual tool and non-separable relationship between virtual tool and the user's body. In this research, authors pay attention to effect of shadow, because a shadow of user's body is non-separable from the user's body, and shadow enhances presence of the object. Therefore, we devised a virtual tool system which integrates two expressions of a virtual shadow of a physical tool and a three-dimensional representation of a virtual tool. Furthermore, we conducted two experiments on interacting with virtual and physical objects while using the virtual tool: a questionnaire method and a unique method based on cross modal interference. Two experiments demonstrated that our virtual tool has an effect on creating a feeling as if the virtual tool became a part of body.