2021/08/16
Keio University
Using psychologically rigorous methods, Assistant Professor Norihiro Itaguchi of the Faculty of Letters at Keio University has clarified the bias in the perception of object size and the characteristics of grasping movements (reaching and grasping) with a virtual hand in an immersive virtual reality (VR) environment. Specifically, he first demonstrated that objects in a VR environment, whether they are body parts or everyday items, are perceived to be about 5% smaller than they actually are. Next, he revealed that when grasping an object with a virtual hand, if the object also exists in reality and can actually be grasped, the hand's opening width increases by as much as about 40%, while if the object exists only virtually (visually), the hand's opening width remains almost the same as in a real environment.
These findings are expected to be applied in a wide range of fields, such as conducting research using VR and the development of games with higher immersion and less fatigue.
This research was published in the online edition of "Frontiers in Virtual Reality" on August 13, 2021.
Please see below for the full press release.