The Influence of Size and Responsiveness of Virtual Objects on Perceived Heaviness

We investigated the multimodal (haptic + visual) perception of heaviness of wielded objects. Virtual depictions of a wielded object moved in real time with the actual wielded object. Both apparent object size and the object's apparent responsiveness to applied muscular torques were manipulated in the virtual depictions. The findings suggest that while both object size and responsiveness contribute to perceived heaviness, the influence of apparent size is not identifiable with changes in apparent object volume.