Practical Insights
Practical Insights
Masking bulky haptics gear
Synchronous visual-tactile cues, such as those used in rubber-hand illusions (see the Crossmodal illusions section for details), can shift perceived limb position by several centimetres in under 60 seconds33. At the whole-body level, the effect is even greater: just 60 seconds of synchronously stroking someone's back whilst also being seen (by the person) to stroke an avatar's back can displace perceived self-location by up to 24 cm toward the avatar131. Deliberate visual-motor mismatches, such as making a hand appear to rotate 30 degrees more than in real life, are typically adapted to within minutes132, reflecting the sensorimotor system's rapid recalibration capabilities. This demonstrates how quickly the sensorimotor system can recalibrate. This plasticity could potentially help hide the physical constraints imposed by bulky haptic devices, given sufficient time is given for adaptation.
Influencing strength
Being given a different body or having your physical size manipulated in immersive experiences can change how people judge effort and what seems physically possible. In such situations, your body acts like a perceptual ruler, with objects in the virtual environment, distances and actions undertaken being perceived quite differently, sometimes differently from how they feel in reality. A consequence is that some interactions might feel easier or harder, and the realism of how objects behave can seem different depending on the perceived body size or identity133.