Nami OGAWA /小川 奈美
Nami OGAWA /小川 奈美
ABOUT ME
Nami Ogawa is a research scientist at CyberAgent AI Lab in Tokyo, Japan. Before joining CyberAgent, she was a principal research scientist at DMM VR lab as well as a joint researcher at Virtual Reality Educational Research Center, the University of Tokyo (Amemiya Lab). She completed her Ph.D. in Engineering at The University of Tokyo in Japan under the supervision of Michitaka Hirose, co-advised by Takuji Narumi.
Her research lies at the intersection of Virtual Reality (VR) and experimental psychology. Especially, she is interested in how the embodiment of virtual avatars affects users' experience of VR.
■ Research Interests
- Why Does Body Ownership Matter?: Effect of Self-Avatar Appearances on Perception and Behavior in VEs
- With VR, a self-avatar can be experienced as if it is one's own body, which is commonly referred to as the “Sense of Body Ownership (SoBO).” Despite a considerable body of literature recognizing the importance of SoBO in VR and elucidating the factors that influence the SoBO, little is known about how the SoBO relates to users' experiences―how they perceive and behave―in virtual environments (VEs). To answer the question “Why does the SoBO matter in VR?” my doctoral research investigates the effect of self-avatar anthropomorphism (i.e., visual human-likeness), which has been shown to affect the SoBO, on users' perceptions and behaviors in VEs.
- Related Papers:
- Effect of Self-Avatar Anthropomorphism on Perception and Behavior in Virtual Environments, 2020. (Ph.D. Thesis) [PDF] [Video] (The 2022 IEEE VGTC Virtual Reality Best Dissertation Award)
- Do You Feel Like Passing Through Walls?: Effect of Self-Avatar Appearance on Facilitating Realistic Behavior in Virtual Environments, 2020. (CHI '20) [PDF] [Video] [Video (Talk)] [DOI (Open Access)] (Honorable Mention Award)
- Effect of Avatar Appearance on Detection Thresholds for Remapped Hand Movements, 2020. (IEEE TVCG; IEEE VR '20) [PDF] [Video] [Video (Talk)] [DOI]
- Embodied Spatial Perception in VEs
- In VEs, we embody virtual bodies of different sizes and characteristics from our actual bodies. I have been questioning how this affects the way we perceive the external world in general, but particularly interested in scale perception in VEs. Specifically, I am focusing on the phenomenon that the scale of the self-body influences the scale of the world (i.e., body-based scaling). I have also been examining the difference in the scale perception between the real and virtual environments.
- Related Papers:
- Virtual Hand Realism Affects Object Size Perception in Body-Based Scaling, 2019. (IEEE VR ’19) [PDF] [Video (Talk)] [DOI]
- Distortion in perceived size and body-based scaling in virtual environments, 2017. (AH '17) [PDF] [DOI]
- Application of Experimental/Perceptual Psychology in Human-Computer Interaction
- In general, my interest lies at the intersection of experimental/perceptual psychology and HCI, including VR. Although my main expertise is in embodiment and avatars, I enjoy reaching beyond my expertise through research collaborations.
- Related Papers on Avatar Embodiment:
- Virtual Co-Embodiment: Evaluation of the Sense of Agency while Sharing the Control of a Virtual Body among Two Individuals, 2020. (IEEE TVCG; IEEE VR '21) [PDF] [Video (Short)] [Video (Long)] [Video (Talk)] [DOI]
- Do We Have to Look at the Mirror All the Time? Effect of Partial Visuomotor Feedback on Body Ownership of a Virtual Human Tail, 2019 (SAP '19) [DOI]
- Related Papers on general VR &HCI:
- Designing for Speech Practice Systems: How Do User-Controlled Voice Manipulation and Model Speakers Impact Self-Perceptions of Voice?, 2022. (CHI '22) [PDF] [Appendix] [Video] [Video (Talk)] [DOI]
- Now I’m Not Afraid: Reducing Fear of Missing Out in 360° Videos on a Head-Mounted Display Using a Panoramic Thumbnail, Proceedings of 2021 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR '21) [PDF] [Appendix] [Video] [Video (Talk)] [DOI]
■ Keywords
virtual reality, sense of body ownership, sense of agency, avatar embodiment, embodied perception, (self-)avatar, body-based scaling, multisensory interaction
■ Selected Papers [link]
■ Interested in collaborative research?
I'm always looking for collaborative research opportunities! Please do not hesitate in contacting me.
RESEARCH PROJECTS
First-Authored Projects
Effect of Self-Avatar Appearance on Facilitating Realistic Behavior in VEs
By hypothesizing that a greater sense of presence would discourage users from behaving unrealistically in virtual environments (VEs), we examined how self-avatar appearances affect users’ behaviors and showed the realistic full-body self-avatar was the most effective for enhancing realistic behaviors.
Keywords: Self-Avatar, Sense of Presence, Sense of Body Ownership
- Nami Ogawa, Takuji Narumi, Hideaki Kuzuoka, and Michitaka Hirose. Do You Feel Like Passing Through Walls?: Effect of Self-Avatar Appearance on Facilitating Realistic Behavior in Virtual Environments, 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '20), 2020. [Video] [Video (Talk)] [DOI (Open Access)] Honorable Mention Award (Top 5%), Open Access
Effect of Avatar Appearance on Detection Thresholds for Remapped Hand Movements
The study showed that realistic virtual hands (vs. abstract) can increase the detection thresholds for remapping technique wherein virtual and physical movements are in conflict; realistic avatars can make remapping less noticeable for larger mismatches.
Keywords: Self-Avatar, Sense of Body Ownership, 3DUI
- Nami Ogawa, Takuji Narumi, Michitaka Hirose: Effect of Avatar Appearance on Detection Thresholds for Remapped Hand Movements, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 2020. [PDF] [Video] [Video (Talk)] [DOI]
Virtual Co-embodiment: Sharing the Control of a Virtual Body among Two Individuals
We introduced a concept "virtual co-embodiment", which enables a user to share their virtual avatar with another entity and described a proof-of-concept in which two users can be immersed from 1PP in a VE and can have complementary levels of control over a shared avatar. We also conducted an experiment to investigate the influence of users' level of control over the shared avatar and prior knowledge of their actions (i.e., task types) on the users' sense of agency and motor actions.
Keywords: Sense of Agency
- Rebecca Fribourg*, Nami Ogawa*, Ludovic Hoyet, Ferran Argelaguet, Takuji Narumi, Michitaka Hirose, Anatole Lécuyer: Virtual Co-Embodiment: Evaluation of the Sense of Agency while Sharing the Control of a Virtual Body among Two Individuals, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 2020. (*: equally contributed) [PDF] [Video (Short)] [Video (Long)] [Video (Talk)] [DOI]
- Article by INRIA | Two people slipped into the same body ...virtually!
- Interactive demonstration at Altered Festival 2020
Virtual Hand Realism Affects Object Size Perception in Body-Based Scaling
Considering the theory that the scale of the external environment is perceived relative to the size of one's body, we hypothesized that self-avatar appearances affect how we perceive not only virtual bodies but also virtual spaces.
Therefore, this study examines how avatar anthropomorphism affects perceived object sizes as the size of the virtual hand changes. The results show that the size of the cube is perceived to be smaller when the virtual hand is enlarged only in the case of a realistic virtual hand.
Keywords: Self-Avatar, Sense of Body Ownership, Body-Based Scaling
- Nami Ogawa, Takuji Narumi, and Michitaka Hirose: Virtual Hand Realism Affects Object Size Perception in Body-Based Scaling, 2019. (IEEE VR ’19) [PDF] [Video (Talk)] [DOI]
Embodied Spatial Perception in VEs
VEs are often said to be compressed in terms of spatial perception. We found that size perception is distorted in a VE, and the distortion is different between virtual objects and one's own virtual hands; virtual hands are perceived as larger, whereas objects are perceived as smaller in VEs than in real environments. In addition, we showed that interaction between hands and objects affects size perception as well.
Keywords: embodied perception, body-based scaling
Co-Authored Projects
Designing for Speech Practice Systems
How Do User-Controlled Voice Manipulation and Model Speakers Impact Self-Perceptions of Voice?
We investigated the impact of user-controlled voice manipulation and listening to recordings of model speakers on self-perceptions of voice and speech.
By combining the results of quantitative and qualitative analyses, we summarized the design implications for a speech practice system.
Keywords: Voice, Speech Training, Mixed Methods, Auditory Feedback
- Lisa Orii, Nami Ogawa, Yuji Hatada, Takuji Narumi. Designing for Speech Practice Systems: How Do User-Controlled Voice Manipulation and Model Speakers Impact Self-Perceptions of Voice?, Proceedings of 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '22) [PDF] [Appendix] [Video] [Video (Talk)] [DOI]
Reducing Fear of Missing Out in 360° Videos Using a Panoramic Thumbnail
Viewers of 360° videos often feel fear of missing out (FOMO) because they can only see a part of the video. To address this issue, we developed a technique to display thumbnails of 360° videos so that viewers can grasp the entire video when necessary. We showed that the proposed method can mitigate FOMO without compromising the sense of presence.
Keywords: 360° Video, FOMO, Sense of Presence
- Shoma Yamaguchi, Nami Ogawa, Takuji Narumi. Now I’m Not Afraid: Reducing Fear of Missing Out in 360° Videos on a Head-Mounted Display Using a Panoramic Thumbnail, Proceedings of 2021 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR '21) [PDF] [Appendix] [Video] [Video (Talk)] [DOI]
- Press Release (written in Japanese)
Do We Have to Look at the Mirror All the Time?
Effect of Partial Visuomotor Feedback on Body Ownership of a Virtual Human Tail.
To elicit the sense of body ownership towards virtual avatars with additional body parts, synchronous visuomotor and/or visuotactile feedback is important. So how is it possible to induce body ownership over an additional body part that one cannot directly see? We investigated the sense of body ownership in situations where only partial visual feedback is given.
Keywords: Body Ownership, Self-Avatar, Body Augmentation
- Ryota Ito, Nami Ogawa, Takuji Narumi, and Michitaka Hirose, "Do We Have to Look at the Mirror All the Time? Effect of Partial Visuomotor Feedback on Body Ownership of a Virtual Human Tail," in Proceedings of the 16th ACM Symposium on Applied Perception (SAP '19), 2019, pp. 8:1-8:9. [DOI]
Studying the Role of Self and External Touch in the Appropriation of Dysmorphic Hands
To be Updated
Keywords: Body Ownership, Self-Avatar, Body Augmentation
- Antonin Cheymol, Rebecca Fribourg, Nami Ogawa, Anatole Lécuyer, Yutaro Hirao, Takuji Narumi, Ferran Argelaguet, Jean-Marie Normand, "Studying the Role of Self and External Touch in the Appropriation of Dysmorphic Hands," in Proceedings of the 2022 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR '22), 2022, pp. 102-111. [PDF] [Appendix] [Video] [Video (Talk)] [DOI]
