BeAnotherLab has developed a virtual reality headset that allows users to experience the world from the perspective of another person, including swapping gender. The 'Machine To Be Another' (MTBA) system uses head-mounted displays and synchronised movements to create the illusion of inhabiting someone else's body.
In the Gender Swap experiment, one person acts as the 'user' and the other as the 'performer'. The user sees a video stream from the performer's perspective, and by mirroring each other's movements, the brain is tricked into believing the performer's body is their own. The user can also hear the performer's thoughts through headphones.
Arthur Pointeau, a member of the research team, explained that the project aims to foster empathy by creating shared experiences. 'It takes insights from neuroscience and body perception science to try and create the illusion of owning somebody else's body,' he said.
The MTBA system was previously an art installation developed with support from the Media lab Hangar and the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. It was set up at the L'estruch Cultural Center in Sabadell, Spain.
Beyond gender swapping, the technology can also simulate what it is like to be short, tall, thin, or overweight. The system is an example of an 'embodiment experience', a neuroscience technique that makes users feel as if they are in a different body.
