VR Haptics at Home: Repurposing Everyday Objects and Environment for Casual and On-Demand VR Haptic Experiences

Abstract: This paper introduces VR Haptics at Home, a method of repurposing everyday objects in the home to provide casual and on-demand haptic experiences. Current VR haptic devices are often expensive, complex, and unreliable, which limits the opportunities for rich haptic experiences outside research labs. In contrast, we envision that, by repurposing everyday objects as passive haptics props, we can create engaging VR experiences for casual uses with minimal cost and setup. To explore and evaluate this idea, we conducted an in-the-wild study with eight participants, in which they used our proof-of-concept system to turn their surrounding objects such as chairs, tables, and pillows at their own homes into haptic props. The study results show that our method can be adapted to different homes and environments, enabling more engaging VR experiences without the need for complex setup process. Based on our findings, we propose a possible design space to showcase the potential for future investigation.