@Article{aymerichfranch:ijsr:2017, author = {Aymerich-Franch, Laura and Petit, Damien and Ganesh, Gowrishankar and Kheddar, Abderrahmane}, title = {Non-human Looking Robot Arms Induce Illusion of Embodiment}, journal = {International Journal of Social Robotics}, year = {2017}, volume = {9}, pages = {479--490}, month = {September}, doi = {10.1007/s12369-017-0397-8}, url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12369-017-0397-8}, keywords = {Humanoid robot embodiment, Non-human looking robot, Body ownership illusion, Rubber-hand illusion}, abstract = {We examine whether non-human looking humanoid robot arms can be perceived as part of one’s own body. In two subsequent experiments, participants experienced high levels of embodiment of a robotic arm that had a blue end effector with no fingers (Experiment 1) and of a robotic arm that ended with a gripper (Experiment 2) when it was stroked synchronously with the real arm. Levels of embodiment were significantly higher than the corresponding asynchronous condition and similar to those reported for a human-looking arm. Additionally, we found that visuo-movement synchronization also induced embodiment of the robot arm and that embodiment was even partially maintained when the robot hand was covered with a blue plastic cover. We conclude that humans are able to experience a strong sense of embodiment towards non-human looking robot arms. The results have important implications for the domains related to robotic embodiment.}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Van Godewijckstraat 30, 3311 GZ Dordrecht, Netherlands} }