Perceiving Mass in Mixed Reality through Pseudo-Haptic Rendering of Newton's Third Law

TL;DR

This paper introduces a visual pseudo-haptic technique to simulate reaction forces in mixed reality, enabling users to perceive virtual object mass without physical force-feedback devices, thus enhancing interaction realism efficiently.

Contribution

It presents a novel visual illusion method for mass perception in mixed reality, eliminating the need for complex force-feedback hardware.

Findings

Users can differentiate virtual object mass using the technique.

The illusion is effective immediately without training.

The method allows measuring the just noticeable difference in virtual mass.

Abstract

In mixed reality, real objects can be used to interact with virtual objects. However, unlike in the real world, real objects do not encounter any opposite reaction force when pushing against virtual objects. The lack of reaction force during manipulation prevents users from perceiving the mass of virtual objects. Although this could be addressed by equipping real objects with force-feedback devices, such a solution remains complex and impractical.In this work, we present a technique to produce an illusion of mass without any active force-feedback mechanism. This is achieved by simulating the effects of this reaction force in a purely visual way. A first study demonstrates that our technique indeed allows users to differentiate light virtual objects from heavy virtual objects. In addition, it shows that the illusion is immediately effective, with no prior training. In a second study, we measure the lowest mass difference (JND) that can be perceived with this technique. The effectiveness and ease of implementation of our solution provides an opportunity to enhance mixed reality interaction at no additional cost.