I-Corps: Analyzing and Optimizing Human Factors and Ergonomics of Virtual Reality Applications

Award ID: 2331503

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of software tools for analyzing and optimizing human factors and ergonomics of virtual reality applications. Training is a crucial virtual reality (VR) application with a significant commercial potential. The proposed technology generates exertion-aware virtual training content, which is important as content created without considering exertion may easily exhaust users or fail to help users achieve their training goals. The envisioned exertion-aware virtual training content may be widely deployed by different industries such as fitness training and rehabilitation. The results may benefit the general public by enhancing training effectiveness and accessibility, public health, and quality of life. In addition, the proposed technology may have an impact on human-computer interaction, content creation, virtual reality, and the future of training. This I-Corps project is based on the development of an exertion-aware content generation toolkit for software applications such as virtual reality training, rehabilitation, and exercising. The proposed technology potentially may be realized as a practical software development kit for a game engine for content creators and extended reality developers use. The proposed toolkit incorporates recent trends of gym equipment companies, virtual reality (VR) companies and VR gyms on gamifying fitness training experiences based on motion-tracked gym equipment and VR technologies. Via optimization, the technology is designed to circumvent the tedious and difficult efforts needed to tune the exertion effects of virtual training content manually, unlocking the full potential of VR for training and fitness enhancement. Using the generated content, a trainee attains the exercise goals, while the haptics feedback synchronized with the visual content enhances the immersiveness and realism. In addition, this enhances the trainees muscle memory and hence the effectiveness of the training experience. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Program Director: Ruth Shuman