Mind the Heart: Designing a Stress Dashboard Based on Physiological Data for Training Highly Stressful Situations in Virtual Reality

Abstract

Virtual Reality is becoming increasingly popular to serve as training ground for challenging environments, which often involve making decisions in cognitive demanding and stressful situations. It has become common practice to analyze bio-signals to determine our current physiological status and fitness. However, we continue to rely on subjective feedback obtained through self-rated questionnaires, when it comes to assessing cognitive states. In this paper we describe the user-centered design process of building a stress dashboard prototype and testing it in a field trial to fully understand its potential. We report on mixed-method studies exploring the interplay between the trainer and the VR system. Our findings demonstrate that integrating a stress dashboard, based on objective bio-signal data, can enhance the VR training process, providing trainers with actionable insights that have the potential to shape trainee behavior and learning outcomes.