Tactile Perception in Matched Virtual Reality: Evaluating Virtual Textures on a Real Surface
Resumo
Realistic haptic feedback is still one of the costliest barriers to convincing virtual-reality (VR) experiences. An alternative is to exploit visual dominance to “re-map” multiple virtual materials onto a single, uniform physical surface. This study quantifies how far such visuo-haptic illusions can go in convincing users that they are touching different textures. Thirty-five participants interacted with a motion-tracked MDF board inside an immersive VR scene in which four virtual materials (synthetic wood, leather, grass and unprocessed tree wood) were rendered with matched lighting and spatial alignment. In six counter-balanced comparison cycles, participants rated the roughness of each virtual texture on a seven-point scale and completed a two-alternative forced-choice task to identify the physically distinct surface. We introduce a Deception Index (DI) metric to classify users as non-differentiators, mixed, or differentiators. Mid-spatial-frequency textures (wood, leather) induced the strongest illusion, with 71% of participants misclassifying the board in ≥ 5 of 6 cycles. The results confirm that carefully crafted visual cues (textures used) can override uniform tactile input, enabling low-cost material prototyping and early ergonomic testing without specialised haptic hardware. We conclude by outlining design guidelines for texture selection and proposing future work combining these illusions with lightweight vibrotactile augmentation to broaden perceptual coverage. The contribution of our work on cross-modal perception in VR resides in the fact that no previous experiment has systematically compared user judgments across virtual textures applied to real surfaces.
Palavras-chave:
Virtual reality, texture remapping, material perception
Referências
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M. Calin et al. Topography and friction behaviour of bovine leather. Tribology in Industry, 123–131, 2020.
J. Park et al. Microscale roughness of turfgrass leaves under urban conditions. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 127–136, 2022.
R. Kminiak et al. Roughness of sawn oak and spruce surfaces. BioResources, 5505–5518, 2015.
D. F. Levia and S. R. Herwitz. Bark microrelief and its ecohydrological significance. Ecohydrology, 35–45, 2014.
S. J. Lederman and R. L. Klatzky. Hand movements A window into haptic object recognition. Cognitive Psychology, 19(3):342–368, 1987.
M. Zhang, E. Mariola, R. Stilla, M. Stoesz, H. Mao, X. Hu, and K. Sathian. Tactile discrimination of grating orientation fMRI activation patterns. Human Brain Mapping, 25(4):370–377, 2005.
M. Schrepp and J. Thomaschewski. Design and validation of a framework for the creation of user experience questionnaires. IJIMAI, 5(7):88–95, 2019.
H.-N. Ho, J. Watanabe, H. Ando, and M. Kashino. Mechanisms underlying referral of thermal sensations to sites of tactile stimulation. Journal of Neuroscience, 31(1):208–213, 2011.
P. Abtahi and S. Follmer. Visuo-haptic illusions for improving the perceived performance of shape displays. Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1–13, 2018.
J. Topliss, S. Lukosch, E. R. Coutts, and T. Piumsomboon. Visually augmenting underfoot tactile perception in augmented virtuality. Proceedings of the 29th ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology, 1–2, 2023.
H. Jang, J. Kim, and J. Lee. Effects of congruent multisensory feedback on the perception and performance of virtual reality hand-retargeted interaction. IEEE Access, 2024.
M. Kari, R. Schutte, and R. Sodhi. Scene responsiveness for visuotactile illusions in mixed reality. Proceedings of the 36th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, 1–15, 2023.
M. Slater and S. Wilbur. A framework for immersive virtual environments (five) Speculations on the role of presence in virtual environments. Presence Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 6(6):603–616, 1997.
P. Milgram and F. Kishino. A taxonomy of mixed reality visual displays. IEICE Transactions on Information and Systems, 77(12):1321–1329, 1994.
B. E. Insko. Passive haptics significantly enhances virtual environments. Ph.D. Thesis, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2001.
M. Azmandian, M. Hancock, H. Benko, E. Ofek, and A. D. Wilson. Haptic retargeting Dynamic re-mapping of passive haptics for enhanced virtual reality experiences. Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1968–1979, 2016.
A. Lecuyer. Simulating haptic feedback using vision A survey of research and applications of pseudo-haptic feedback. Presence Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 18(1):39–53, 2009.
L. Dominjon, A. Lecuyer, J.-M. Burkhardt, P. Richard, and S. Richir. Influence of control/display ratio on the perception of mass of manipulated objects in virtual environments. IEEE Proceedings VR 2005 Virtual Reality, 19–25, 2005.
H. Culbertson and K. J. Kuchenbecker. Ungrounded haptic augmented reality system for displaying roughness and friction. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 22(4):1839–1849, 2017.
A. Zenner and A. Kruger. Shifty A weight-shifting dynamic passive haptic proxy to enhance object perception in virtual reality. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 23(4):1285–1294, 2017.
W. H. Lew and D. R. Coates. The effect of target and background texture on relative depth discrimination in a virtual environment. Virtual Reality, 28(2):103, 2024.
E. Normand, C. Pacchierotti, E. Marchand, and M. Marchal. How different is the perception of vibrotactile texture roughness in augmented versus virtual reality. Proceedings of the 30th ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology, 1–10, 2024.
Meta Platforms Inc. Meta Quest 3 Mixed/virtual reality headset. Available [link], 2024.
M. Abdi Oskouie. Haptic perception in virtual environments using proxy objects A usability study. 2019.
Sketchfab. Sketchfab The best 3D viewer on the web. Available [link], 2024.
Poliigon Pty Ltd. Poliigon PBR textures models and HDRIs for 3D artists. Available [link], 2024.
Poly Haven. Poly Haven A community-funded resource of open content. Available [link], 2024.
G. C. Domingues, V. Vieira, L. Yoshida, L. de Oliveira, F. Peres, C. Mauricio, F. Nunes, J. M. Teixeira, and A. Neto. What if video see-through in HMDs changes how accurately we perform tasks. Proceedings of the 26th Symposium on Virtual and Augmented Reality, 213–222, 2024.
A. Lunguleasa et al. Surface quality of melamine-faced chipboard panels. Recent, 32–40, 2020.
M. Kroupa and P. Kral. Static and dynamic friction of laminated wood panels. Wood Research, 145–154, 2021.
M. Calin et al. Topography and friction behaviour of bovine leather. Tribology in Industry, 123–131, 2020.
J. Park et al. Microscale roughness of turfgrass leaves under urban conditions. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 127–136, 2022.
R. Kminiak et al. Roughness of sawn oak and spruce surfaces. BioResources, 5505–5518, 2015.
D. F. Levia and S. R. Herwitz. Bark microrelief and its ecohydrological significance. Ecohydrology, 35–45, 2014.
S. J. Lederman and R. L. Klatzky. Hand movements A window into haptic object recognition. Cognitive Psychology, 19(3):342–368, 1987.
M. Zhang, E. Mariola, R. Stilla, M. Stoesz, H. Mao, X. Hu, and K. Sathian. Tactile discrimination of grating orientation fMRI activation patterns. Human Brain Mapping, 25(4):370–377, 2005.
M. Schrepp and J. Thomaschewski. Design and validation of a framework for the creation of user experience questionnaires. IJIMAI, 5(7):88–95, 2019.
H.-N. Ho, J. Watanabe, H. Ando, and M. Kashino. Mechanisms underlying referral of thermal sensations to sites of tactile stimulation. Journal of Neuroscience, 31(1):208–213, 2011.
Publicado
30/09/2025
Como Citar
OHARA, David; PIERRE, Gabriel; NUNES, Fatima; TEIXEIRA, João Marcelo.
Tactile Perception in Matched Virtual Reality: Evaluating Virtual Textures on a Real Surface. In: SIMPÓSIO DE REALIDADE VIRTUAL E AUMENTADA (SVR), 27. , 2025, Salvador/BA.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2025
.
p. 236-245.
