VR8

What does sweat, and virtual reality have to do with treating social anxiety? VRaid is an ambitious collaboration between clinical and technical researchers that seek to develop the VR8 solution, an innovative and personalized treatment for social anxiety in adults.

Through VR patients are being exposed to anxiety-inducing scenarios controlled by their therapist, such as public speaking or public transportation. In real-time biometric data, such as heart rate, sweat and respiration levels, informs the VR system that then adapts to the individual needs of the patient.
Through artificial intelligence the biometric data is compiled into an ‘anxiety model’.  Over time the system creates an anxiety model for each patient, and this knowledge is used by the therapist to estimate how challenging the anxiety-inducing situation should be.  For instance, if simulating public speaking should the audience be more attentive to what the patient is saying, or would it be beneficial for the treatment to introduce an indifferent audience?

The research within this project features exploration of the combination of design methods such as iterative development methods, filmmaking, UX and participatory design used for the design and development of the interactive 360-degree scenarios within the VR8. The project also feature research in AI in anxiety treatment.