Jointonation: Robotization of the Human Body by Vibrotactile Feedback (Best Demo Voted by Program Committee)

Movies, comics and video games frequently involve robotic heroes composed of metallic parts. Although these characters exist only in the realm of fantasy, many of us would be interested in becoming them, or becoming like them. The question therefore naturally arises: how would it feel like to be a robot?
We developed a virtual robotization system named Jointonation, which modulates haptic intonation of the human joint. To create realistic robot-like body sense, we propose the vibrotactile feedback using the vibration recording of real robot actuation, data-driven modeling based on spectral approximation, and vibrotactile rendering to the user’s elbow joint as a function of the elbow angular velocity. Combined with conventional visual augmented reality (AR) and creaking sound effects, Jointonation allows the user to virtually robotize his or her body visually, aurally and haptically. We experimentally confirmed that the subjective robot-like feeling was significantly increased by combining the robot-vibration feedback with a robot-joint animation and creaking operating noise.
This work contributes to the field of computer entertainment technology by presenting a new alternative for achieving an immersive video game experience with gesture input interfaces. By creating a robot-like body sense and simulating a situation in which the player becomes the robot, experiencing the game with a robotic body could be made more immersive and intuitive. We envision that the technique of virtual robotization could enrich video game by offering an emerging experience of being a fictional robotic hero.

Yosuke Kurihara
The University of Electro-Communications

Taku Hachisu
The University of Electro-Communications

Katherine Kuchenbecker
University of Pennsylvania

Hiroyuki Kajimoto
The University of Electro-Communications