In-pulse: inducing fear and pain in virtual experiences

Researchers have attempted to increase the realism of virtual reality (VR) applications in many ways. Combinations of the visual, auditory and haptic feedback have successfully simulated experiences in VR, however, multimedia contents may also stimulate emotions. In this paper, we especially paid attention to negative emotions that may be perceived in such experiences (e.g., fear). We hypothesized that volunteering, visual, mechanical, and electrical feedback may induce negative emotional feedback to users. In-Pulse is a novel system and approach to explore the potential of bringing this emotional feedback to users. We designed a head-mounted display (HMD) combined with mechanical and electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) actuators. A user study was performed to explore the effect of our approaches with combinations with VR contents. The results suggest that mechanical actuators and EMS can improve the experience of virtual experiences.