Stretchar(m) makes your arms elastic
Kenri Kodaka, Koyo Mori · 2017
Stretchar(m) gives a unique experience of having elastic arms that can be gradually extended or retracted where the virtual arms are visually stretched from the first person perspective in the head-mounted display (HMD) space. This is done through a physical action of pulling a pole and leaning slightly backward when standing and being assisted by a playmate who pulls the pole in the opposite direction. Specifically, the (virtual arms') stretch ratio is internally associated with a gain in the weight of the HMD wearer, measured with the Wii Balance Board placed under the foot of the wearer. In such a stress-free sensor environment, the more deeply the wearer leans backward (that enhances the arm-muscle load), the more weight is applied to the ground, resulting in an increase in the wearer's weight and the stretch ratio. Thus, the sense of arms being pulled is transformed into a sense of having stretched arms. Because such a vision---proprioception correlation is designed on the basis of the well-known principle of rubber-hand illusion, Stretchar(m) can yield a strong sense of body ownership toward the elastic arm.