Drone Rider: Effects of Translucent Actual Own Body Parts on Embodiment in Virtual Reality Space

抄録

In virtual reality (VR) systems, particularly in practical applications such as simulators, enhancing the sense of embodiment is crucial to minimizing the disparity between virtual and real-world experiences. This study investigated the effects of viewing the operator's own body parts, either clearly or translucently, on embodiment. For this purpose, we employed a VR drone simulator, in which the operator rode on a drone and enjoyed flying over natural landscapes. The operators compared three conditions regarding the visual representation of their own hands on a grip. In one condition, they could see their own hands overlaid on the VR scene. In another condition, the overlaid hands were made translucent. These conditions were achieved by using the video-see-through function of a VR headset. In the last condition, the hands were not visible. Through a user study, we compared the sense of embodiment experienced in the three conditions. Embodiment was marginally enhanced when the actual forearms appeared translucently on the computer graphics images, compared to the condition where the operators’ forearms were not visible. Viewing one’s own body parts in a translucent form can improve user experiences in VR environments.