The Influence of Avatar Representation on Haptic Interaction in Virtual Environment

Co-presence is the index that indicates the degree to which the observer believes he/she is not alone and secluded. The representation of avatars in virtual environments (VE) having an effect on co-presence was reported. However, these reports are only limited to visual interaction. This paper aims to clarify the influence of the avatar representation on cooperative haptic interaction. Haptic interaction in the VE is essential for teleoperation. A cooperative task with multilateral control was conducted, and the haptic interaction was analyzed by conducting a survey. In the experiment, the avatar representation was changed by three patterns of the avatar representation as follows; all of subjects’ avatars are displayed, only the subject’s avatar is displayed, and all of subjects’ avatar is not displayed. The experimental results showed that the avatar representation did not affect the haptic interaction. On the other hand, the subject’s impression was changed by the avatar representation. Therefore, it was concluded that the avatars are not always necessary in a cooperative task.