An objective measure for the visual fidelity of virtual reality and the risks of falls in a virtual environment

Menzies, Rosemary J.; Rogers, Samuel; Phillips, Anastasia; Chiarovano, Elodie; Waele, Catherine de; Verstraten, Frans A. J.; MacDougall, Hamish G.

doi:10.1007/s10055-016-0288-6

Cited by 35 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Thus, subjects might have used the visual reference in the abstract scene less as compared to the photo-realistic laboratory scene due to different levels of presence. Such a possible relationship between presence and postural stability has been suggested by Menzies et al [ 37 ]. The authors observed small differences when comparing spontaneous sway viewing the same virtual scene with different technical devices.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 60%

“…The authors observed small differences when comparing spontaneous sway viewing the same virtual scene with different technical devices. Menzies et al [ 37 ] found reduced sway using a better technical device and dedicated their findings to higher fidelity. While their findings are in line with our results and interpretation, Menzies et al [ 37 ] used a visual scene similar to our abstract scene.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Virtual reality as a tool for balance research: Eyes open body sway is reproduced in photo-realistic, but not in abstract virtual scenes

Assländer

Streuber

2020

PLoS ONE

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Virtual reality (VR) technology is commonly used in balance research due to its ability to simulate real world experiences under controlled experimental conditions. However, several studies reported considerable differences in balance behavior in real world environments as compared to virtual environments presented in a head mounted display. Most of these studies were conducted more than a decade ago, at a time when VR was still struggling with major technical limitations (delays, limited field-of-view, etc.). In the meantime, VR technology has progressed considerably, enhancing its capacity to induce the feeling of presence and behavioural realism. In this study, we addressed two questions: Has VR technology now reached a point where balance is similar in real and virtual environments? And does the integration of visual cues for balance depend on the subjective experience of presence? We used a state-of-the-art head mounted VR system and a custom-made balance platform to compare balance when viewing (1) a real-world environment, (2) a photo-realistic virtual copy of the real-world environment, (3) an abstract virtual environment consisting of only spheres and bars (‘low presence’ VR condition), and, as reference, (4) a condition with eyes closed. Body sway of ten participants was measured in three different support surface conditions: (A) quiet stance, (B) stance on a sway referenced surface, and (C) surface tilting following a pseudo-random sequence. A 2-level repeated measures ANOVA and PostHoc analyses revealed no significant differences in body sway between viewing the real world environment and the photo-realistic virtual copy. In contrast, body sway was increased in the ‘low presence’ abstract scene and further increased with eyes closed. Results were consistent across platform conditions. Our results support the hypothesis that state of the art VR reached a point of behavioural realism in which balance in photo-realistic VR is similar to balance in a real environment. Presence was lower in the abstract virtual condition as compared to the photo-realistic condition as measured by the IPQ presence questionnaire. Thus, our results indicate that spatial presence may be a moderating factor, but further research is required to confirm this notion. We conceive that virtual reality is a valid tool for balance research, but that the properties of the virtual environment affects results.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 60%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Virtual reality as a tool for balance research: Eyes open body sway is reproduced in photo-realistic, but not in abstract virtual scenes

Assländer

Streuber

2020

PLoS ONE

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“…Head-mounted displays or ''headsets'' can recreate a three-dimensional, 360°experience from a first-person perspective. 18 VR has naturally been of interest as a means of engagement with environments that improve cognition, motor skills, mood, and psychological wellbeing, enabling virtual exposure therapy in a safe environment. Although studies have found VR to improve affect in a mixed hospital sample 19 and a university sample, 20 very few studies have examined the capacity for VR to influence the affect of hospitalized patients both quantitatively and qualitatively through experiences tailored to the individual.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Potential Benefits of Personalized 360 Video Experiences on Affect: A Proof-of-Concept Study

Evans

Chiarovano

MacDougall

2020

Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking

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Despite the importance of healthy affect to improving hospital outcomes, effective means of promoting healthy affect have yet to be elucidated. One unexplored solution lies with virtual reality (VR) technologies. The present study sought to investigate whether personalized VR interventions could improve affect levels in a university sample (n = 33) and one hospitalized patient depending upon one's baseline affective profile. Positive and Negative Affect Schedule scores were compared before and after witnessing important life events/environments in VR and interview responses were analyzed. Within the university student sample, those with high affective profiles produced significantly greater post/pre negative affect (NA) score decreases than self-fulfilling and low affective profiles. The patient experienced a 10-point increase in positive affect and a 7-point decrease in NA. Overall, the current study tended to demonstrate the acceptability and efficacy of personalized VR experiences in promoting healthy affect.

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“…One year ago, we developed a visual perturbation using virtual reality (VR) to perturb visual inputs (4). The effectiveness of VR using different headsets has been shown to substantially perturb the stability of healthy subjects (5). We are able to challenge two sensory inputs involved in balance: visual inputs by using VR and proprioceptive inputs by using foam rubber on the WBB (WBB + foam).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Balance in Virtual Reality: Effect of Age and Bilateral Vestibular Loss

et al. 2017

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BackgroundQuantitative balance measurement is used in clinical practice to prevent falls. The conditions of the test were limited to eyes open, eyes closed, and sway-referenced vision. We developed a new visual perturbation to challenge balance using virtual reality (VR), measuring postural stability by a Wii Balance Board (WBB).MethodsIn this study, we recorded balance performance of 116 healthy subjects and of 10 bilateral vestibular loss patients using VR to assess the effect of age and the effect of total loss of vestibular function. We used several conditions: eyes open (normal visual inputs), eyes closed (no visual inputs), stable visual world (vision referenced), and perturbed visual world (visual perturbation) at different amplitudes of perturbation. Balance under these visual conditions was assessed on the WBB (stable support surface) and on the WBB plus foam rubber (unstable support surface).ResultsIn healthy subjects, we found that the percentage of falls increased with age and with the amplitude of perturbation for both conditions: WBB or WBB + foam. Moreover, we can define a threshold for falls in each age group as the amplitude of perturbation which induced falls. For bilateral vestibular loss patients, on the WBB + foam, all of them failed with eyes closed and with perturbed visual world even at the minimal amplitude of perturbation. Finally, we observed that stable visual world induced fewer falls than eyes closed whatever the subject’s group (healthy or bilateral vestibular loss) and whatever the age decade.ConclusionVR allowed us to develop a useful new tool with a wide range of visual perturbations. Rather than only two levels of visual condition (eyes open and eyes closed), the VR stimulus can be continuously adjusted to produce a visual perturbation powerful enough to induce falls even in young healthy subjects and which has allowed us to determine a threshold for falls.

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An objective measure for the visual fidelity of virtual reality and the risks of falls in a virtual environment

Cited by 35 publications

References 26 publications

Virtual reality as a tool for balance research: Eyes open body sway is reproduced in photo-realistic, but not in abstract virtual scenes

Virtual reality as a tool for balance research: Eyes open body sway is reproduced in photo-realistic, but not in abstract virtual scenes

The Potential Benefits of Personalized 360 Video Experiences on Affect: A Proof-of-Concept Study

Balance in Virtual Reality: Effect of Age and Bilateral Vestibular Loss

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