• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Sunday, June 15, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Chemistry

Third and fourth robotic arms feel like a part of the user’s own body

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
June 27, 2022
in Chemistry
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
ADVERTISEMENT
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Overview

A user manipulates the supernumerary robotic arms using their feet in a virtual environment.

Credit: COPYRIGHT (C) TOYOHASHI UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Overview

A research team with members from the University of Tokyo, Keio University and Toyohashi University of Technology have developed supernumerary robotic arms operated by the user’s foot movements in a virtual environment. It has shown that users can feel the supernumerary robotic arms as a part of their own body (embodiment). The study contributes to the design of human augmentation system that can be used naturally and freely without cognitive effort, like the user’s own body.

 

Details

Doctoral student Ken Arai and Professor Masahiko Inami from the University of Tokyo, in collaboration with researchers from Keio University and Toyohashi University of Technology, have developed supernumerary robotic arms that works in conjunction with user’s foot movements in a virtual reality (VR) environment, and have shown that users consider the supernumerary robotic arms as a part of their own body (embodiment). In order to extend bodily functions using robotic third and fourth arms, it is important that the arms can be embodied and easily manipulated like the user’s own body parts. The research group performed experiments to capture the perceptual changes that could occur when the arms were embodied after using and learning about the supernumerary robotic arms. The bodily phenomenon of visual-haptic interaction with the supernumerary robotic arms and the sensation that the number of one’s arm has increased (supernumerary-limb sensation) have been revealed for the first time in the world. This research has been published in Scientific Reports on June 27, 2022.

 

Humans do many things in our daily lives by skillfully manipulating the own bodies. Then, they use tools to do things that are difficult to do with their bodies alone. For example, humans can use scissors to neatly cut paper into desired shapes and use a rake to pick up distant objects. Can humans add an extra limb to their own bodies, such as a third arm or sixth finger? The goal of supernumerary robotic arms is to extend the body’s functions by adding extra limbs using appropriate human-computer interaction systems. It is expected that the supernumerary robotic arms will move as intended naturally, just like the user’s own arms and legs. However, whether the robotic system can be perceived as part of the user’s own body has not been sufficiently investigated.

 

It has been shown that humans can embody artificial objects other than their own body or can feel the sense of body ownership and agency with the objects. Therefore, the researchers aimed to clarify whether the third and fourth robotic arms could become embodied after using them.

 

The researchers investigated whether the use of the supernumerary robotic arms in VR enables the user to perceive the arms as part of his or her own body and whether perceptual changes occur in the proximal space around the robotic arms. The results of the experiment showed that after learning to use the supernumerary robotic system, subjective evaluation scores indicated the supernumerary robotic arms were embodied, and the perceptual change in visual-haptic integration around the supernumerary arm (peripersonal space) correlated with the subjective evaluation score that felt the number of arms increased (supernumerary-limb sensation).

 

Future Outlook

These results suggest that the augmentation of the body’s functions by adding extra body parts has generated the sensation that the user has acquired new body parts that are different from his or her innate body parts. These findings also contribute to the creation of a method for the evaluation of supernumerary robotic systems from the perspective of embodiment. Moreover, the embodiment of supernumerary robotic limbs may expand and refine embodiment research in cognitive sciences.

 

Funding agency

This research was supported in part by the JST ERATO Inami Jizai Body Project (JPMJER1701).

 

Publication

Ken Arai, Hiroto Saito, Masaaki Fukuoka, Sachiyo Ueda, Maki Sugimoto, Michiteru Kitazaki, Masahiko Inami (2022). Embodiment of supernumerary robotic limbs in virtual reality, Scientific Reports, 10.1038/s41598-022-13981-w



Journal

Scientific Reports

DOI

10.1038/s41598-022-13981-w

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Embodiment of supernumerary robotic limbs in virtual reality

Article Publication Date

27-Jun-2022

Share13Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

blank

Scientists Develop Innovative Method to Eliminate Phosphorus from Polluted Water

June 11, 2025
New atom interferometer

Quantum Navigation Breakthrough: Atom-Based Device Measures 3D Acceleration with Unprecedented Precision

June 11, 2025

Green Light Triggers Antibiotic Activation Precisely Where Needed

June 11, 2025

New ‘Breathalyzer’ Sensor Enables Rapid Detection of Methanol Poisoning

June 11, 2025

POPULAR NEWS

  • Green brake lights in the front could reduce accidents

    Study from TU Graz Reveals Front Brake Lights Could Drastically Diminish Road Accident Rates

    158 shares
    Share 63 Tweet 40
  • New Study Uncovers Unexpected Side Effects of High-Dose Radiation Therapy

    75 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
  • Pancreatic Cancer Vaccines Eradicate Disease in Preclinical Studies

    69 shares
    Share 28 Tweet 17
  • How Scientists Unraveled the Mystery Behind the Gigantic Size of Extinct Ground Sloths—and What Led to Their Demise

    65 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Magnetic Soft Millirobot Enables Simultaneous Locomotion, Sensing

Urban Form Shapes Compound Natural Risk: US Study

Perivascular Fluid Diffusivity Predicts Early Parkinson’s Decline

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.