Harnessing extended reality to reduce the fear of water

Monash College human-computer interplay researchers have developed a playful water-inspired prolonged actuality system utilizing floatation tanks to assist scale back aquaphobia.

The research, published as a part of the Proceedings of the CHI Convention on Human Elements in Computing Techniques this yr, was led by researchers from the School of Data Know-how’s Exertion Video games Lab.

The analysis mixed a water-based digital actuality (VR) panorama with the managed atmosphere of a water-filled floatation tank to assist contributors overcome the concern of water. The outcomes confirmed contributors skilled much less nervousness concerning water whereas experiencing the prolonged actuality system.

The expertise includes floating in a tank whereas a VR headset delivers a digital auditory and visible atmosphere. The participant’s coronary heart fee (measured utilizing a sensor), respiratory (sensed through the headset’s microphone), and slight head actions (sensed through the headset) management interactions inside the digital atmosphere.

The lead creator of the analysis paper, human-computer interplay researcher Ph.D. Candidate Maria Montoya, stated individuals who concern being in water are sometimes unable to take pleasure in leisure actions in water and may even develop a concern of drowning.

“We imagine there is a chance for interactive techniques to deliver folks nearer to water in enjoyable and accessible methods,” Montoya stated.

“Just like digital actuality publicity remedy, which progressively engages folks to face fearful conditions, the prolonged actuality (XR) system we developed gives rewards with playful experiences by an entertaining interactive story to encourage contributors to be within the floatation tank for more and more longer intervals of time.”

The XR expertise gives an interactive journey the place the participant is guided by three principal digital water worlds by a digital character known as a “water spirit.” The water spirit is a information that gives the participant with verbal assurances that they’re doing nice and are protected and encourages them to benefit from the expertise.

The “journey” on this VR expertise is just like publicity remedy’s “step-by-step” progressive publicity of contributors to a fearful state of affairs.

Within the third and remaining stage of the XR expertise, the participant strikes skyward, and the water spirit guides them to navigate by cyclones and encourages them to manage their coronary heart fee to cease the rain and storms.

The researchers enabled hands-free interactions by utilizing the headset’s sensors and microphone to encourage physique leisure appropriate for folks with a concern of being within the water. This helped the contributors to not be involved with performing any strenuous or advanced actions whereas they had been in water.

The research labored with twelve contributors who had a self-reported concern of being in water. The process consisted of six steps together with recording the baseline coronary heart fee of the contributors whereas they lay on a yoga mat earlier than coming into the water, floating within the tank with out expertise after which including the XR expertise with a headset whereas the contributors had been floating within the water.

Co-author of the analysis, Exertion Video games Lab Director Professor Florian “Floyd’ Mueller, stated the research outcomes confirmed that the XR system helped to cut back the contributors’ concern of being in water.

“Our coronary heart fee variability index confirmed the contributors tended to be much less anxious whereas they had been being entertained by the XR system in comparison with once they had been floating within the tank with none expertise,” Professor Mueller stated.

“We hope that our analysis and findings would possibly assist psychologists, psychological well being professionals, well being care staff and different human-computer interplay researchers to discover prolonged actuality as a viable means to develop interventions to handle aquaphobia and presumably different phobias.”