Enriching Industrial Training Experience in Virtual Reality with Pseudo-Haptics and Vibrotactile Stimulation

Virtual Reality (VR) technology facilitates effective, flexible, and safe industrial training for novice technicians when on-site training is not feasible. However, previous research has shown that training in VR may be less successful than traditional learning approaches in real-world settings, and haptic interaction may be the key to improving virtual training. In this study, we integrated pseudo-haptic feedback from motion delay with vibrotactile stimulation to enhance the sense of presence, enjoyment, and the perception of physical properties in VR, which may be crucial for achieving faithful simulations. The impact of combined haptic support was assessed in a complex industrial training procedure completing a variety of tasks such as component assembly and cleaning. The results indicate that vibrotactile cues are beneficial for presence and enjoyment, whereas pseudo-haptic illusions effectively enable kinesthetic sensations. Furthermore, multimodal haptic feedback that mixed the two yielded the most advantageous outcomes. Our findings highlight the potential of the pseudo-haptic and vibrotactile fusion in industrial training scenarios, presenting practical implications of the state-of-the-art haptic technologies for virtual learning.