VR-Rides: Interactive VR games for health

Abstract

VR Rides is a virtual reality game that aims to engage older adults in physical and cognitive exercise to reduce their risk of developing dementia. The experience combines a recumbent tricycle, real-world imagery (sourced from Google Streetview), an Oculus Rift headset and a Microsoft Kinect camera, such that the player can navigate real locations in a safe virtual environment. Using this platform, we further developed two game designs: Competitive (ghost/virtual player as opponent to guess visited cities) and affiliative (virtual tour to invoke and share memories). Our immediate goal involves deploying VR Rides into retirement homes, so that it can be evaluated in a realistic setting. The first primary measures of these experiments will focus on engagement and usability of older adults. However, we would also ideally measure the outcomes of using this platform on players’ mobility and spatial skills in future.