Virtual idyll to beat the isolation blues

• Autores: Jessica Hamzelou
• Localización: New scientist, ISSN 0262-4079, Nº. 3057, 2016, pág. 10
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Robert Stone at the University of Birmingham, UK, is probing the use of virtual reality to help lower stress. Stone's virtual environment is a recreation of the village of Wembury on the south coast of the UK. It was built using aerial photos and 3D topographical maps, then populated with trees and animals. The resulting scene takes 40 minutes to "walk" through, and its time of day can be synced to that in the real world. Stone has asked 30 patients in a hospital intensive care unit to try it out, with the aim of seeing whether it aids their recovery. Hospital testers with moderate mobility wear a VR headset while strolling on an exercise machine as part of their rehabilitation; others simply watch a video of the simulation. The ideals to offer them a mare stimulating environment and eliminate the boredom associated with rehab at present, he says. His team is now analyzing the data. Meanwhile, Jay Buckey and Allison Anderson at Dartmouth College in Hanover NH have taken the same technology to the Canadian Forces Station Alert base at the north-eastern tip of Ellesmere island. By enrolling military personnel here and at other remote locations, they hope to test the system's ability to alleviate feelings of isolation, relax people and sharpen their focus.