The Influence of Coherent Visuo-Tactile Feedback on Self-location in Telexistence

Abstract

Although previous researches have shown that our spatial understanding is determined by the multiple sensory information such as vision and touch, how the effect of visuo-tactile integration works on the sense of body ownership, agency and self-localization has been unrevealed. In this study, we built a telexistence system to investigate the effect of combined visual and tactile information by allowing the participants to see their own back via surrogate robot, while applying stimuli on their hand and back synchronously. The participants' answers on questionnaires revealed that they experienced reality in the position of robot in a remote location, rather than their own bodies, through the experiment. This result provided evidence for the efficient enhancement of visuo-tactile integration on self-localization, body ownership, and the sense of agency in a telexistence settings.