Haptic feedback plays a large role in enhancing immersion and presence in VR. However, previous research and commercial products have limitations in terms of variety and locations of delivered feedbacks. To address these challenges, we present HapticSnakes, which are snake-like waist-worn robots that can deliver multiple types of feedback in various body locations, including taps-, gestures-, airflow-, brushing- and gripper-based feedbacks. We developed two robots, one is lightweight and suitable for taps and gestures, while the other is capable of multiple types of feedback. We presented a design space based on our implementations and conducted two evaluations. Since taps are versatile, easy to deliver and largely unexplored, our first evaluation focused on distinguishability of tap strengths and locations on the front and back torso. Participants had highest accuracy in distinguishing feedback on the uppermost regions and had superior overall accuracy in distinguishing feedback strengths over locations. Our second user study investigated HapticSnakes’ ability to deliver multiple feedback types within VR experiences, as well as users’ impressions of wearing our robots and receiving novel feedback in VR. The results indicate that participants had distinct preferences for feedbacks and were in favor of using our robots throughout. Based on the results of our evaluations, we extract design considerations and discuss research challenges and opportunities for developing multi-haptic feedback robots.

中文翻译：

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HapticSnakes：可实现沉浸式虚拟现实的多触觉反馈可穿戴机器人

触觉反馈在增强VR的沉浸感和存在感方面起着重要作用。但是，先前的研究和商业产品在所传递反馈的种类和位置方面都有局限性。为了应对这些挑战，我们展示了HapticSnakes，这是一种蛇形的腰部机器人，可以在各种身体位置提供多种类型的反馈，包括基于敲击，手势，气流，刷牙和抓手的反馈。我们开发了两种机器人，一种机器人很轻巧，适用于敲击和手势操作，另一种可以提供多种类型的反馈。我们根据实现情况介绍了一个设计空间，并进行了两次评估。由于丝锥的用途广泛，易于交付且在很大程度上尚未开发，因此我们的首次评估侧重于丝锥强度和前后躯干位置的区别。参与者在区分最上方区域的反馈方面具有最高的准确性，并且在区分各个地区的反馈强度方面具有较高的总体准确性。我们的第二项用户研究调查了HapticSnakes在VR体验中提供多种反馈类型的能力，以及用户对穿着我们的机器人并在VR中获得新颖反馈的印象。结果表明，参与者对反馈有不同的偏爱，并且赞成始终使用我们的机器人。根据评估结果，我们提取设计考虑因素，并讨论开发多触觉反馈机器人的研究挑战和机遇。我们的第二项用户研究调查了HapticSnakes在VR体验中提供多种反馈类型的能力，以及用户对穿着我们的机器人并在VR中获得新颖反馈的印象。结果表明，参与者对反馈有不同的偏爱，并且赞成始终使用我们的机器人。根据评估结果，我们提取设计考虑因素，并讨论开发多触觉反馈机器人的研究挑战和机遇。我们的第二项用户研究调查了HapticSnakes在VR体验中提供多种反馈类型的能力，以及用户对穿着我们的机器人并在VR中获得新颖反馈的印象。结果表明，参与者对反馈有不同的偏爱，并且赞成始终使用我们的机器人。根据评估结果，我们提取设计考虑因素，并讨论开发多触觉反馈机器人的研究挑战和机遇。