Investigation of relationship between VHI intensity and brain activation using LABNIRS

Abstract

To develop the technology which provide someone with the texture sensation, we have investigated the Velvet Hand Illusion (VHI). VHI is an illusion phenomenon in which a smooth surface sensation is induced when two parallel steel wires are sandwiched between two palm of hands and rubbed back and forth. So far, we clarified that VHI also occurs in the dot matrix displays in psychophysical experiment, but we did not clarify its mechanism. In this study, to clarify the mechanism of VHI from the viewpoint of brain science, we conducted a measurement experiment of the brain activation state at the time of VHI occurrence using LABNIRS.