A multidisciplinary investigation to unravel the complexity of the sense of embodiment in teleoperation

This thesis explores the complex concept of the Sense of Embodiment (SoE) in the teleoperation domain. SoE encompasses the development of a sense of ownership, agency, and self-location over a surrogate, represented here by a robotic or virtual avatar. Despite advancements in telepresence avatars, and the acknowledged importance of SoE in enhancing operator experiences and task performance, there is a lack of consensus, definition, and standardized frameworks for testing and measuring SoE. This leads to variability in experimental setups, induction methods, quantification, and data analysis, hindering result replication and comparison across studies.
To address these issues, this work takes several steps: 1) It introduces a toolbox and guidelines for designing, testing, and assessing SoE in teleoperation scenarios. 2) It distinguishes between explicit and implicit measures of SoE, advocating for a combined approach and introduces pupil dilation as an implicit measure. 3) It explores the role of perceptual cues in affecting embodiment components and task performance during teleoperation. 4) It investigates how the manipulation of
the SoE impacts task performance, motor learning, and motor adaptation in various teleoperation setups and domains. 5) It examines the impact of an avatar perception on the recipient's experience in a teleoperation scenario, utilizing a novel multimodal EchoBorg method. 6) It offers a philosophical perspective, based on Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology, emphasizing the importance of considering the embodied nature of human experience and technology's integration into our lives.
This research aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of SoE, especially in the context of teleoperation, spanning from cognitive science to robotics. It demonstrates the multidisciplinary nature of the topic and its relevance to diverse research fields. The complexity and ambiguity surrounding embodiment make it simultaneously intriguing and insufficiently explored, emphasizing the need for continued investigation and standardization.