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Abstract

To date, few head-mounted display (HMD) virtual environment systems display a rendering of the user’s own body. Subjectively, this often leads to a sense of disembodiment in the VE. In a recent study, we found that the experience with a self-avatar changed the typical pattern of distance underestimation seen in many HMD studies (Mohler et al, in press Presence). Users showed an increase in distance estimations with avatar experience, especially when the avatar was animated in correspondence with their own body-movements. The effect occurred for both co-located self-avatars and self-avatars viewed from the third person perspective. The current study investigated the importance of the degree to which self-avatar animation reflected the actual movements of the user. We compared distance judgments with a third-person perspective view of a self-avatar that was either controlled by user motions or was animated based on pre-recorded motion data. The results suggest that experience with an animated avatar, even if not in correspondence with a user’s own body movements, increases distance estimates. The magnitude of this effect will be further examined with additional participants.