HapticWings: Enhancing the Experience of Extra Wing Motions in Virtual Reality through Dynamic 2D Weight Shifting

In virtual reality (VR), our virtual body can have different characteristics from our real body, such as appearance, size, and even extra body parts. Previous research shows that haptic feedback enhances the user-perceived embodiment of those dissimilar avatars. In particular, weight-shifting devices showed the potential to enhance arm deformation. However, there has been no exploration of using such techniques to enhance embodiment with extra body parts, like wings. We introduce HapticWings, a back-wearable 2D weight-shifting device that provides haptic feedback for wing motions, enhancing the user embodiment of avatars with extra wings. In three user studies, we explored (1) users’ abilities to recognize different weight-shifting motions provided by HapticWings, (2) users’ perceived embodiment of avatars with extra wings when providing haptic feedback for wing motions, and (3) four possible applications and used two of them to evaluate users’ sense of realism and enjoyment in VR.