surreal assist. virtual reality: an empathy machine
DESCRIPTION
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Surreal AssistVirtual Reality - An Empathy Machine
IMPACT ON UX
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• What if someone commits a crime in the virtual world? What sort of punishments will be given – virtual or real?
• Will there be new interface and input mechansims to make the imemrsive experience compelling?
• Will the virtual worlds, one is immersed in also need access control to create security and privacy?
• Designers will need to think about how different cultures and different segments of people within cultures use virtual reality systems.
• What sort of qualifications will be required to use a virtual reality system? Will there be an age limit or other restrictions? Will one need a fitness test of any kind before operating a virtual relaity system?
How will one be able to personalize the immersive environments?
Virtual Reality (VR) is an immersive technology that can simulate a physical presence in real places or imagined worlds. Today, we primarily talk about Virtual Reality in gaming. However, soon it is going to impact our other experiences as well.
Head Mounted Displays allow you to look around and walk through computer-simu-lated environments. This provides an immersive environment for entertainment. This can also assist in experiencing emotions one is unable to express in real life.
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Real Help for War Veterans
Racial Equality
Therapists are using Virtual Reality systems in conjunction with a form of talk therapy to treat War Veterans with symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress. Disorder (PTSD). A common problem of PTSD is ‘Emotional Avoidance’ or being unwilling to think about a particular traumatic event or unable to feel the emotions related to it.
Virtual Reality is also helping people deal with the issue of racism. To help people empathize with other races, scientists have found that racial bias is reduced when
participants are immersed in the virtual body of a person from a different race.