Supernumerary Arms for Gestural Communication

Cyborgs are human-machine hybrids with organic and mechatronic body parts. Like humans, cyborgs may use their additional body parts for physical tasks and communication. In this study, we investigate how additional arms can be used to communicate. While using additional arms to perform physical tasks has been researched, using them to communicate is an area that is largely unexplored. Our study is divided into three stages: a pilot study, implementation, and a user study. In this paper, we discuss our efforts as related to the first two stages of our study. The pilot study was used to determine user expectations for the arms. Participants found the arms effective for describing an area from a fixed location. Users also preferred additional arms that can be controlled and are physically similar to their existing arms. Our prototype consists of a virtual mirror that augments the user's body with additional arms. We discuss future directions for improving our implementation and outline a plan for the user study.