Let’s be: Multisensory storytelling in haptic-supported VR for an improved sense of presence and connectedness

Psychosocial problems related to social isolation are a growing issue for wellbeing and health and have become a significant societal problem. This is especially relevant for children and adults with chronic illnesses and disabilities, and those spending extended periods in hospitals or permanently living in assisted living facilities. A lack of social relationships, social connectivity, and the inability to travel freely leads to feelings of isolation and loneliness. Loneliness interventions often use mediated environments to improve the feeling of connectedness. It has been proven that the utilization of haptic technologies enhances realism and the sense of presence in both virtual environments and telepresence in physical places by allowing the user to experience interaction through the sense of touch. However, the technology application is mostly limited to the experiences of serious games in professional environments and for-entertainment-gaming.
This project aims to explore how haptic technologies can support the storytelling of semi-scripted experiences in VR to improve participants’ sense of presence and, therefore, the feeling of connectedness.
By designing and prototyping the experience, the project aims to obtain insights and offer a better understanding of designing haptic-technology-supported storytelling and its potential to improve connectedness and become a useful tool in isolation interventions. The project will be conducted through the process of participants’ co-creation.

Eindrapportage

Haptic feedback can be seen as a promising approach to improving the feelings of presence and connectedness in virtual environments. The haptics offer the potential for improving the perceived realness and liveness of the experience and, as a result, develop social connectedness based on those principles.
In the offline world, language and touch are naturally experienced together. In virtual environments, people adapt by looking for the cues available to them. By introducing haptic feedback - that is, replicating actual tactile responses to a simulated environment - users have more tangible coping mechanisms at their disposal when engaging with collaborative or challenge-based scenarios; ultimately improving the feeling of presence (and in consequence social connection) they experience, while navigating through VR worlds.
However, there continue to be technological shortcomings preventing an entirely immersive experience given current equipment's limitations around realistic replication of physicality and its associated bulky design traits limiting user comfort levels during gameplay sessions.