Controlling the Sense of Embodiment for Virtual Avatar Applications: Methods and Empirical Study
BackgroundThe sense of embodiment (SoE) is the feeling of one’s own body, and research on the SoE extends from the rubber hand illusion to the full-body ownership illusion with a virtual avatar. ObjectiveThe key to utilizing a virtual avatar is understanding and controlling the SoE, and...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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JMIR Publications
2020-09-01
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| Series: | JMIR Serious Games |
| Online Access: | http://games.jmir.org/2020/3/e21879/ |
| _version_ | 1818900360164540416 |
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| author | Kim, Chang-Seop Jung, Myeongul Kim, So-Yeon Kim, Kwanguk |
| author_facet | Kim, Chang-Seop Jung, Myeongul Kim, So-Yeon Kim, Kwanguk |
| author_sort | Kim, Chang-Seop |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundThe sense of embodiment (SoE) is the feeling of one’s own body, and research on the SoE extends from the rubber hand illusion to the full-body ownership illusion with a virtual avatar.
ObjectiveThe key to utilizing a virtual avatar is understanding and controlling the SoE, and it can be extended to several medical applications. In this study, we aimed to clarify these aspects by considering the following three subcomponents of SoE: sense of agency, ownership, and self-location.
MethodsWe defined a human avatar (HA), point light avatar (PLA), and out-of-body point light avatar (OBPLA) and compared them in three user studies. In study 1, 28 participants were recruited and the three avatar conditions (HA, PLA, and OBPLA) were compared. In study 2, 29 new participants were recruited, and there were two avatar conditions (HA ad PLA) and two motion synchrony conditions (synchrony and asynchrony). In study 3, 29 other participants were recruited, and there were two avatar conditions (PLA and OBPLA) and two motion synchrony conditions (synchrony and asynchrony). Dependent measures included sense of agency, ownership, and self-location; emotional response; presence; and simulator sickness.
ResultsThe findings of study 1 showed that the three avatar generation methodologies can control the sense of ownership and self-location in a stepwise manner while maintaining a high sense of agency. In studies 2 and 3, we found dependencies among the three subcomponents of SoE and observed that they affected users’ subjective experiences.
ConclusionsOur findings may have implications for boosting the effects of virtual avatar applications in medical areas, by understanding and controlling the SoE with a full-body illusion. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T20:02:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ac02a3ce409e492a938205f86b0f8e3a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2291-9279 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T20:02:37Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Serious Games |
| spelling | doaj.art-ac02a3ce409e492a938205f86b0f8e3a2022-12-21T20:07:38ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Serious Games2291-92792020-09-0183e2187910.2196/21879Controlling the Sense of Embodiment for Virtual Avatar Applications: Methods and Empirical StudyKim, Chang-SeopJung, MyeongulKim, So-YeonKim, KwangukBackgroundThe sense of embodiment (SoE) is the feeling of one’s own body, and research on the SoE extends from the rubber hand illusion to the full-body ownership illusion with a virtual avatar. ObjectiveThe key to utilizing a virtual avatar is understanding and controlling the SoE, and it can be extended to several medical applications. In this study, we aimed to clarify these aspects by considering the following three subcomponents of SoE: sense of agency, ownership, and self-location. MethodsWe defined a human avatar (HA), point light avatar (PLA), and out-of-body point light avatar (OBPLA) and compared them in three user studies. In study 1, 28 participants were recruited and the three avatar conditions (HA, PLA, and OBPLA) were compared. In study 2, 29 new participants were recruited, and there were two avatar conditions (HA ad PLA) and two motion synchrony conditions (synchrony and asynchrony). In study 3, 29 other participants were recruited, and there were two avatar conditions (PLA and OBPLA) and two motion synchrony conditions (synchrony and asynchrony). Dependent measures included sense of agency, ownership, and self-location; emotional response; presence; and simulator sickness. ResultsThe findings of study 1 showed that the three avatar generation methodologies can control the sense of ownership and self-location in a stepwise manner while maintaining a high sense of agency. In studies 2 and 3, we found dependencies among the three subcomponents of SoE and observed that they affected users’ subjective experiences. ConclusionsOur findings may have implications for boosting the effects of virtual avatar applications in medical areas, by understanding and controlling the SoE with a full-body illusion.http://games.jmir.org/2020/3/e21879/ |
| spellingShingle | Kim, Chang-Seop Jung, Myeongul Kim, So-Yeon Kim, Kwanguk Controlling the Sense of Embodiment for Virtual Avatar Applications: Methods and Empirical Study JMIR Serious Games |
| title | Controlling the Sense of Embodiment for Virtual Avatar Applications: Methods and Empirical Study |
| title_full | Controlling the Sense of Embodiment for Virtual Avatar Applications: Methods and Empirical Study |
| title_fullStr | Controlling the Sense of Embodiment for Virtual Avatar Applications: Methods and Empirical Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Controlling the Sense of Embodiment for Virtual Avatar Applications: Methods and Empirical Study |
| title_short | Controlling the Sense of Embodiment for Virtual Avatar Applications: Methods and Empirical Study |
| title_sort | controlling the sense of embodiment for virtual avatar applications methods and empirical study |
| url | http://games.jmir.org/2020/3/e21879/ |
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