A large percentage of the population experiences some form of anxiety-related issue and its symptoms, with an even higher prevalence among young adults. Providing them with tools to manage anxiety symptoms is crucial for enhancing their physical and emotional well-being. This application trains young adults in Jacobson’s Progressive Muscle Relaxation technique through several phases.
The training of this technique in immersive Virtual Reality has many advantages. Would you like to discover them?
PMR Virtual Training
This application aims to train young adults in the Progressive Muscle Relaxation technique through different phases. In these phases, individuals will follow the instructions of a voice while surrounded by a fully immersive and relaxing environment.
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To improve (or match) the outcomes of traditional training:
This application aims to be useful for training individuals in the PMR technique. Thanks to immersive Virtual Reality, individuals will be able to focus more on the instructions and relaxation. The environment changes according to the tasks the individual has to perform to help them complete them better. The technology frees the professional, who can focus on analyzing the technique’s development more effectively.
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Being an inclusive application:
This tool can be used by individuals with concentration issues, hearing impairments, mobility limitations, and others. Interactions with the virtual environment are straightforward. Additionally, visual assistance can be activated through real-time text instructions and an avatar that demonstrates what needs to be done at each moment.
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Bringing technology closer to conventional therapy:
Younger individuals are accustomed to using new technologies. Adapting conventional therapy with technological tools can help improve adherence and interest among young people.
The application has been developed using Blender software for the creation of environments and 3D objects, Unreal Engine for programming and adaptation to Virtual Reality, and Ready Player Me for avatar creation.
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Environment Development:
The training takes place in a natural beach environment with a low-poly style. All elements feature pastel colors to enhance relaxation. Regarding audio, the application includes relaxing and natural binaural sounds that aid immersion and relaxation for the individual.
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Various Training Phases:
The application offers different phases of Progressive Muscle Relaxation training, allowing the individual (or overseeing professional) to select among them based on the progress achieved.
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Visual Support:
Throughout the training phases, the individual (or overseeing professional) can choose to activate or deactivate the text explaining the instructions and the avatar performing the tasks simultaneously with the user. This visual support aims to tailor the application to the needs of each user.
Guillen-Sanz, H., Miguel-Alonso, I., Varona, I.Q., Rodriguez-Garcia, B. (2023). Design and Development of an Immersive Virtual Reality Application to Reduce Anxiety in Young Adults. In: Abdelnour Nocera, J., Kristín Lárusdóttir, M., Petrie, H., Piccinno, A., Winckler, M. (eds) Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2023. INTERACT 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14145. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42293-5_51
This application has been funded by the ‘XI Edition Proof of Concept Call: Promotion of the valorization and exploitation of research results’ from the University of Burgos. This call has enabled the research group to acquire immersive Virtual Reality devices and biosensors for subsequent versions.
Project details
PROJECT TITLE:
PMR Virtual Training
FIELD:
Psychology
LAST VERSION RELEASE:
September, 2023
DOWNLOAD LINK:
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