A Comparison between Vibrotactile Error-correction Feedback on Upper and Lower Body in the VR Snowboard Balancing Task

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of vibrotactile stimulus location on the balancing task in virtual reality (VR). Using a virtual snowboarding system with wearable haptic devices, we conducted a betweensubject user study comparing the effectiveness of two different body locations–upper body (UB; torso vibrations) and lower body (LB; ankle vibrations). The real-time vibrotactile balance-correction feedback was generated by the Center of Pressure (CoP) calculated from the sensor array on insoles. The initial results showed that UB feedback is better than LB to improve users’ balance ability.