Virtual reality system with smartphone application for height exposure

Abstract

One of the treatment methods for phobias is behavioral therapy by creating patient’s fear environment for the patient to confront that situation. Virtual reality is one of the most interesting technologies for creating three-dimensional virtual environments. The virtual reality technology makes users feel like they are immersed in a virtual world. To accomplish creating fear environment, this paper presented a virtual reality system with a smartphone application for height exposure. The virtual reality system is simple, which consists of software and hardware. Users can use this system easily in their own home. With an evaluation on 20 participants, the impact of user involvement on realism and fear of heights was explored. Paired samples t-test showed that the user’s influence on the height of the building was significant. Moreover, the user’s influence on the realism and fear of heights when the sound is activated were significant.