Pseudo-haptic perception

Pseudo-haptics is a tactile-kinesthetic illusion where the sensory channel used to convey the haptic perception is different from the basic haptic one by way of controlled multimodal combination. This game focuses on the pseudo-haptic rendering of objects with weight within a didactic framework of learning physics, particularly the notion of mass. I sought to verify the hypothesis that pseudo-haptic techniques allow users to discriminate objects of identical aspects but different masses. I focused on passive haptic feedback and modified the visual feedback via the Control-to-Display (C/D) ratio introduced by previous authors. Several conditions were compared by respectively modifying the C/D ratio in translation, in rotation, and using an explicit metaphor (Roberval balance). Results show that the Roberval balance metaphor proved highly efficient, motivating and fun to use. Pseudo-haptics metaphors had minimal efficiency and users were often confusing and frustrating.