Necomimi illusion: Generating Ownership of Cat Ears through Haptic Feedback via Hair

The sense of ownership over non-human body parts, such as tails and third arms, has been explored using Virtual Reality (VR) technology.These studies are grounded in evolutionary backgrounds and anatomical associations.However, whether the body model can be extended to imaginary body parts without such evolutionary and anatomical associations remains unclear.In this demonstration, we developed a device that creates a sense of ownership over imaginary body parts, specifically cat ears.We achieve this through haptic feedback to the head via hair.Using soft actuators made of shape memory alloys, we move the hair to reproduce various haptic sensations and the comfort associated with stroking cat ears, including the range and direction of the touch.Participants transform into an avatar with cat ears and experience having their imaginary cat ears stroked.