Evaluation of Multi-Point Vibratory Stimulation on Kinesthetic Illusion of the Arm

Abstract

Presenting kinesthetic sensation usually requires a large space so as to avoid users colliding with objects or other users. One way to tackle this issue to use kinesthetic illusion, which is a way of presenting kinesthetic sensation without physical motion. However, realizing dynamic motion and fast movement remains difficult. Considering that multiple synergist muscles are usually involved in a movement, stimulating multiple synergist muscles might enhance the illusion. Thus, we investigated whether multi-point vibratory stimulation to multiple synergist muscles enhances induced kinesthetic illusions. We found that stimulating multiple synergist muscles created more vivid illusions. Additionally, we found that our method was effective for inducing steady illusions, but not for rapid illusions. We also calculated the contribution of each proposed stimulation point to the illusion.