Influence of body visualization in VR during the execution of motoric tasks in different age groups

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) has become a common tool and is often considered for sport-specific purposes. Despite the increased usage, the transfer of VR-adapted skills into the real-world (RW) has not yet been sufficiently studied, and it is still unknown how much of the own body must be visible to complete motoric tasks within VR. In addition, it should be clarified whether older adults also need to perceive their body within VR scenarios to the same extent as younger people extending the usability. Therefore, younger (18–30 years old) and elderly adults (55 years and older) were tested (n = 42) performing a balance-, grasping- and throwing task in VR (HMD based) accompanied with different body visualization types in VR and in the RW having the regular visual input of body’s components. Comparing the performances between the age groups, the time for completion, the number of steps (balance task), the subjective estimation of difficulty, the number of errors, and a rating system revealing movements’ quality were considered as examined parameters. A one-way ANOVA/Friedmann with repeated measurements with factor [body visualization] was conducted to test the influence of varying body visualizations during task completion. Comparisons between the conditions [RW, VR] were performed using the t-Tests/Wilcoxon tests, and to compare both age groups [young, old], t-Tests for independent samples/Mann-Whitney-U-Test were used. The analyses of the effect of body visualization on performances showed a significant loss in movement’s quality when no body part was visualized (p < .05). This did not occur for the elderly adults, for which no influence of the body visualization on their performance could be proven. Comparing both age groups, the elderly adults performed significantly worse than the young age group in both conditions (p < .05). In VR, both groups showed longer times for completion, a higher rating of tasks’ difficulty in the balance and throwing task, and less performance quality in the grasping task. Overall, the results suggest using VR for the elderly with caution to the task demands, and the visualization of the body seemed less crucial for generating task completion. In summary, the actual task demands in VR could be successfully performed by elderly adults, even once one has to reckon with losses within movement’s quality. Although more different movements should be tested, basic elements are also realizable for elderly adults expanding possible areas of VR applications.

In too deep? A systematic literature review of fully‐immersive virtual reality and cybersickness among older adults

“…Using the Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool, six studies received a rating of strong, 22,27,29,39,40,55 10 studies received a rating of moderate, 24,31,36,41,44,50,51,53,54,57 and 23 studies received a rating of weak. 21,23,25,26,28,30,[32][33][34][35]37,38,42,43,[45][46][47][48][49]52,56,58,59 Participants…”

“…The study samples were generally small, with 19 studies consisting of a sample size of 30 participants or less. 21,23,25,26,28,30,33,38,43,[45][46][47][50][51][52]54,56,57,59 Most study samples were majority female, but the average age varied greatly between 63 years 42,44 to 92 years. 51 While many study samples consisted of community dwelling older adults, 34,35,38,41,44,45 other older adult subpopulations studied included those with cognitive impairment, 21,23,24,27,32,[53][54][55][56]58,59 those hospitalized 21,43,47 or living in an long term care community, 25,26,[28][29][30]48,…”

“…Across all studies, the most common study purpose was to assess the feasibility of fully-immersive virtual reality interventions for older adults. The majority of studies (23 studies) utilized a one-time session intervention, 22,24,28,[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49] whereas 16 studies 21,23,[25][26][27]29,[50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59] consisted of more than one session. The duration of the virtual reality intervention varied considerably from a one-time seven to 9 min session 38 to 20 min sessions per day for 4 weeks.…”

“…The duration of the virtual reality intervention varied considerably from a one-time seven to 9 min session 38 to 20 min sessions per day for 4 weeks. 27 Most studies' interventions included a virtual task that related to cognitive training or assessment, 22,24,[31][32][33][34]39,41,43,47,[53][54][55][56]58,59 activity or physical rehabilitation, 27,37,38,40,42,[49][50][51][52]57 exploration for purposes such as well-being or reminiscence, 21,23,25,[28][29][30]35,36,46,48 or a combination. 44,45 The most common virtual reality headsets used among the studies were the HTC Vive 32,35,37,[40][41][42]44,47,…”

Can Virtual Reality Increases Students Interest in Computational Chemistry Course? A Review

“…This actually bringing some joys to observe rather than screen touching or mouse clicking on the computer monitor. All of this is actually achievable due to the advancement of technology from the VR itself (Pastel et al, 2022).…”