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International audienceImmersive Virtual Musical Instruments (IVMIs) can be considered as the meeting between Music Technology and Virtual Reality. Being both musical instruments and elements of Virtual Environments , IVMIs require a transversal approach from their designers, in particular when the final aim is to play them in front of an audience , as part of a scenography. In this paper, we combine the main constraints of musical performances and Virtual Reality applications into a set of dimensions, meant to extensively describe IVMIs stage setups. A number of existing stage setups are then classified using these dimensions, explaining how they were used to showcase live virtual performances and discussing their scenographic level

Enhancing the embodiment of artificial limbs—the individuals' feeling that a virtual or robotic limb is integrated in their own body scheme—is an impactful strategy for improving prosthetic technology acceptance and human-machine interaction. Most studies so far focused on visuo-tactile strategies to empower the embodiment processes. However, novel approaches could emerge from self-regulation techniques able to change the psychophysiological conditions of an individual. Accordingly, this pilot study investigates the effects of a self-regulated breathing exercise on the processes of body ownership underlying the embodiment of a virtual right hand within a Spatially Augmented Respiratory Biofeedback (SARB) setting. This investigation also aims at evaluating the feasibility of the breathing exercise enabled by a low-cost SARB implementation designed for upcoming remote studies (a need emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic). Twenty-two subjects without impairments, and two transradial prosthesis users for a preparatory test, were asked (in each condition of a within-group design) to maintain a normal (about 14 breaths/min) or slow (about 6 breaths/min) respiratory rate to keep a static virtual right hand “visible” on a screen. Meanwhile, a computer-generated sphere moved from left to right toward the virtual hand during each trial (1 min) of 16. If the participant's breathing rate was within the target (slow or normal) range, a visuo-tactile event was triggered by the sphere passing under the virtual hand (the subjects observed it shaking while they perceived a vibratory feedback generated by a smartphone). Our results—mainly based on questionnaire scores and proprioceptive drift—highlight that the slow breathing condition induced higher embodiment than the normal one. This preliminary study reveals the feasibility and potential of a novel psychophysiological training strategy to enhance the embodiment of artificial limbs. Future studies are needed to further investigate mechanisms, efficacy and generalizability of the SARB techniques in training a bionic limb embodiment.

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Intuitive interaction is the cornerstone of accurate and effective performance in remote robotic teleoperation. It requires high-fidelity in control actions as well as perception (vision, haptic, and other sensory feedback) of the remote environment. This paper presents Vicarios, a Virtual Reality (VR) based interface with the aim of facilitating intuitive real-time remote teleoperation, while utilizing the inherent benefits of VR, including immersive visualization, freedom of user viewpoint selection, and fluidity of interaction through natural action interfaces. Vicarios aims to enhance the situational awareness, using the concept of viewpoint-independent mapping between the operator and the remote scene, thereby giving the operator better control in the perception-action loop. The article describes the overall system of Vicarios, with its software, hardware, and communication framework. A comparative user study quantifies the impact of the interface and its features, including immersion and instantaneous user viewpoint changes, termed “teleporting”, on users’ performance. The results show that users’ performance with the VR-based interface was either similar to or better than the baseline condition of traditional stereo video feedback, approving the realistic nature of the Vicarios interface. Furthermore, including the teleporting feature in VR significantly improved participants’ performance and their appreciation for it, which was evident in the post-questionnaire results. Vicarios capitalizes on the intuitiveness and flexibility of VR to improve accuracy in remote teleoperation.