Moment Controller: VR Controller raises Awareness of the Difference in Weight between Virtual Objects

Background Existing VR controllers provide vibration feedback, including visual and auditory stimuli, to users who interact with virtual objects. However, these alone have limitations in delivering the realistic sense of weight to the users when interacting with virtual objects of different weights, which requires improvement. Methods Based on the threshold experiment on weight perception, this study designed and implemented the moment controller, a device that can deliver weight, and developed a VR game to compare the weight of virtual objects on both arms scales. In addition, five different situations were classified, including the appearance of a virtual object, the difference in weight, and whether the expected weight and actual weight of the virtual object were matched. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the usefulness of the moment controller by performing the two-arm scale game in each of the five situations. Results The results of the experiment showed that participants felt more realistic when they felt the weight matching the visual appearance of a virtual object, and unrealistic when they felt the opposite weight. In particular, the task resulted in the longest time under the opposite weight. In addition, the enjoyment score was highest when the weight matching the appearance of the virtual object was applied. Conclusions The moment controller has shown the potential to increase the sense of weight perception to users interacting with virtual objects, and is expected to enhance the sense of immersion of users experiencing virtual environments.