Temporal visuomotor synchrony induces embodiment towards an avatar with biomechanically impossible arm movements.

Visuomotor synchrony in time and space induces a sense of embodiment towards virtual bodies experienced in first-person view using Virtual Reality (VR). Here, we investigated whether temporal visuomotor synchrony affects avatar embodiment even when the movements of the virtual arms are spatially altered from those of the user in a non-human-like manner. In a within-subjects design VR experiment, participants performed a reaching task controlling an avatar whose lower arms bent in inversed and biomechanically impossible directions from the elbow joints.

Empathic embarrassment towards non-human agents in virtual environments.

Humans feel empathic embarrassment by witnessing others go through embarrassing situations. We examined whether we feel such empathic embarrassment even with robot avatars. Participants observed a human avatar and a robot avatar face a series of embarrassing and non-embarrassing scenarios.

Effect of connection induced upper body movements on embodiment towards a limb controlled by another during virtual co-embodiment.

Even if we cannot control them, or when we receive no tactile or proprioceptive feedback from them, limbs attached to our bodies can still provide indirect proprioceptive and haptic stimulations to the body parts they are attached to simply due to the physical connections. In this study we investigated whether such indirect movement and haptic feedbacks from a limb contribute to a feeling of embodiment towards it. To investigate this issue, we developed a 'Joint Avatar' setup in which two individuals were given full control over the limbs in different sides (left and right) of an avatar during a reaching task.

Knowing the intention behind limb movements of a partner increases embodiment towards the limb of joint avatar.

We explored a concept called "virtual co-embodiment", which enables users to share their virtual avatars with others. Co-embodiment of avatars and robots can be applied for collaboratively performing complicated tasks, skill training, rehabilitation, and aiding disabled users. We conducted an experiment where two users could co-embody one "joint avatar" in first person view and control different arms to collaboratively perform three types of reaching tasks.