Assignment 2 Report

Introduction

The application is an interactive VR experience where a user must complete a series of tasks to escape a room. The goal of this application is to provide controlled exposure therapy for claustrophobia.

Description of application

The application uses VR technology to place a user in a virtual environment in which they can safely face their fear of small, enclosed spaces.

For individuals with severe cases of claustrophobia the fear can be debilitating, with some of these individuals struggling to enter common spaces such as elevator [1]. For phobias such as this one option for treatment is exposure therapy, which can be difficult to access and/or face for many patients. The application provides an easy way of exposing users to their fear of small spaces using a virtual environment, giving them the opportunity to practice facing their fear in VR before attempting the same in the real world. There has been research on the use of VR for the treatment of claustrophobia, one study concluded with this statement:  "VR exposure was effective in reducing fear in closed spaces, in increasing self-efficacy in claustrophobic situations, and in improving other problems not specifically treated. Moreover, changes were maintained at 3 months after treatment."[2]

Not only has VR been shown to be effective in the space it is also more accessible and versatile than other forms of exposure therapy, and is less confronting for the majority of users, the only exception to this being those that experience claustrophobia with the covering of the eyes. The environment provides rooms of varying size for the user to attempt, as the user progresses they open up smaller and smaller spaces. The final room including a puzzle to give the user a goal to work towards and to make the environment more interesting and engaging.

Interaction Design

The active interactions in the application include pressing buttons, and picking up objects. The buttons open doors to new rooms, progressing the experience naturally and reducing the amount of exposure the user gets immediately upon entry. There is a chess board as part of the final puzzle, each of the chess pieces can be picked up in-order to place them in the required positions. These interactions provide a more immersive and engaging experience for the user. Below is a storyboard illustrating the two interactions.

Technical Development

The specific interface technology used was the Meta Quest 2. The button interaction can be achieved by holding in the grab button on the Quest 2 controller and pointing with the index finger whilst touching the virtual button. The grab interaction can be achieved by placing the virtual hand on one of the grabbable objects (small chess pieces), and holding in the grab button to hold the object.

Descriptions of 3D Models

The only imported 3D models was a low poly chess set used for the puzzle aspect of the application. These models were downloaded from the Unity asset store. Below is an image of the models, from the Unity Asset Store[3].

References

• 2022. Unity Asset Store. https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/props/free-low-poly-chess-set-116856
• 2022. Healthline. Everything You Should Know About Claustrophobia. [online] Available at: <https: www.healthline.com="" health="" claustrophobia=""> [Accessed 21 August 2022].</https:> https://www.healthline.com/health/claustrophobia
• Botella C, Villa H, Baños R, Perpiñá C, García-Palacios A. The treatment of claustrophobia with virtual reality: changes in other phobic behaviors not specifically treated. Cyberpsychol Behav. 1999;2(2):135-41. doi: 10.1089/cpb.1999.2.135. PMID: 19178249. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19178249/