The Role of Visual Augmentation on Embodied Skill Acquisition Across Perspectives and Body Representations

Area of Science:

• Virtual Reality (VR)
• Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
• Motor Learning

Background:

• Immersive embodiment in VR shows potential for motor skill acquisition.
• Real-time visual guidance across different perspectives and body representations needs further exploration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate a puppet-inspired visual feedback framework for embodied learning.
• To investigate the impact of continuous visual linkages (line, color, thickness) on spatial deviation externalization and motor skill acquisition.
• To assess the effectiveness of this framework across different perspectives (first-person, third-person) and motor task types (fine and gross).

Main Methods:

• A controlled virtual reality experiment was conducted with 40 participants.
• Participants performed gesture imitation tasks involving fine (sign language) and gross (aviation marshalling) motor components.
• A puppet-inspired visual feedback framework with line, color, and thickness cues was employed.

Main Results:

• Color-based guidance significantly enhanced imitation accuracy and short-term learning.
• Perceived embodiment, presence, agency, and task engagement were improved.
• These benefits were particularly pronounced in finger-based tasks and first-person viewpoints.

Conclusions:

• The puppet-inspired visual feedback framework effectively scaffolds embodied learning in VR.
• Color-based visual cues are a promising method for improving motor skill acquisition, especially for fine motor tasks.
• Future research should explore diverse visual guidance strategies and their impact on embodiment and learning across various contexts.