DRUMMED HEAD（2024）

CAPTION

本研究では、HMDを用いて頭部離脱を体験できるシステムを構築した。身体の最小単位としての頭部に着目し、頭部の着脱をトリガーとした身体所有感を生起させることを目的としている。HMDを装着した体験者が太鼓を逆さまにして机に叩く動作を行うと、それに伴いアバターの頭が吹っ飛ぶことで、自分の頭が吹っ飛んだような感覚が得られる。その感覚に対し主観評価を行ったところ、85%が肯定的であった。

Drummed Head Experience is a head-mounted display (HMD) system that creates the surreal sensation of one’s head being separated from their body. This illusory detachment occurs in sync with banging an upside-down drum on a table, physically controlled by the HMD wearer. Throughout the trial, participants continuously hold the wooden upside-down drum, which serves as a miniature avatar of themselves in the virtual space, with both hands. By aligning their head with the bottom of the drum through audiovisual transitions, participants can experience the sensation of attaching or detaching their virtual head to or from the drum’s body (illusory head-switching). Notably, the movements of the virtual head, now transferred onto the drum, precisely mirror the participant’s actual head movements, reinforcing the illusion of observing oneself from behind. Ultimately, banging the upside-down drum on the table causes the virtual head to separate from the avatar’s body, be propelled upward, and eventually roll onto the floor.This technology was tested in a laboratory experiment, where 80\% of participants reported a strong or very strong sensation of their own head being blown away. In a follow-up experiment, audiovisual transitions in Drummed Head were found to significantly enhance the effectiveness of the head-switching illusion.