Name: controlled rotation of human observers in a virtual reality environment
Uploaded: 2022-04-21T13:30:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Controlled Rotation of Human Observers in a Virtual Reality Environment at JoVE.com

This work was supported by Australian Research Council grants DP160104211, DP190103474, and DP190103103.

WARNING: Electrical work should be performed by a qualified person.
1. Mechanical system setup procedure
<ol>
	<li>Attach the main pulley to the upper shaft of the swivel chair.
	<ol>
		<li>Remove the upper shaft. 
		NOTE: This typically involves placing the chair on its side and removing a pin at the base of the chair that prevents the upper shaft from sliding out of the lower shaft.</li>
		<li>Friction-fit the pulley to the shaft.
		<ol>
			<li>Use Vernier calipers to...

<ol>
	<li>Campos, J., B&#252;lthoff, H., Murray, M. M., Wallace, M. T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Multimodal+integration+during+self-motion+in+virtual+reality.">Multimodal integration during self-motion in virtual reality.</a> The Neural Bases of Multisensory. , (2012).</li><li>Radianti, J., Majchrzak, T. A., Fromm, J., Wohlgenannt, I. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+systematic+review+of+immersive+virtual+reality+applications+for+higher+education:+Design+elements,+lessons+learned,+and+research+agenda.">A systematic review of immersive virtual reality applications for higher education: Design elements, lessons learned, and research agenda.</a> Computers &amp; Education. 147, 103778 (2020).</li><li>Madshaven, J. 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Z., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Tracking+of+illusory+target+motion:+Differences+between+gaze+and+head+responses.">Tracking of illusory target motion: Differences between gaze and head responses.</a> Vision Research. 35 (21), 3029-3035 (1995).</li><li>Farrell-Whelan, M., Wenderoth, P., Wiese, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Studies+of+the+angular+function+of+a+Duncker-type+induced+motion+illusion.">Studies of the angular function of a Duncker-type induced motion illusion.</a> Perception. 41 (6), 733-746 (2012).</li><li>Warren, P. A., Rushton, S. 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This paper presents a method for adding automated rotation to an office chair under the control of an observer or experimenter, and an accompanying method for integrating that motion into a virtual experience. Critical steps include the mechanical attachment of the motor to the chair, setting up the power to and electrical control of the motor, then configuring the Arduino and computer to drive the motor controller. The mechanical attachment step requires some specialized equipment and skills, although workarounds have b...

Many cues combine under natural conditions to produce a sense of self-motion1. Producing such a sense is a goal in many recreational, health, and educational VR applications2,3,4,5, and simply understanding how cues combine to give a sense of self-motion has been a long-term endeavor of neuroscientists6,7,8,9,10,11. The three most important classes of cues for self-motion perception are visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive1. All three combine congruently during natural active movement in the real world to provide a robust and rich sense of self-motion. To understand the role of each class of cues and get a sense of how cues combine, researchers have traditionally deprived experimental observers of one or more cues and/or placed cues in conflict with one another1,12. For example, to provide rotational vestibular cues in the absence of proprioceptive cues, an observer can be rotated passively by a motorized chair13,14,15,16. Such passive motion has been shown to provide very convincing cues to self-motion17. Controlled visual cues provided by a VR headset can be congruent or incongruent with the chair motion or absent altogether. Proprioceptive cues can be added by having the observer rotate the chair under their own power, e.g., by pushing the chair around with their feet.
Presented here is a method for converting an office swivel chair into a medium for physically rotating the body of an observer and integrating that motion into a visual (and potentially auditory) virtual experience. The rotation of the chair can be under the control of the observer, a computer program, or another person such as the experimenter. Observer-controlled rotation can be passive by making the motor-driven rotation a function of the position of the observer&#39;s hand-held controller or active by turning the chair off and having the observer rotate the chair themselves.
Also presented is a psychophysical application for this chair/VR system. This example application highlights the usefulness of the controlled passive rotation of an observer in understanding how self-motion cues interact to produce overall perceptual experiences. The specific goal was to gain insight into a long-studied visual illusion&#8211;induced motion18,19. In induced motion, a stationary or moving target is perceptually &#34;repulsed&#34; away from a moving background. For example, if a red target dot moves vertically upwards against a field of blue dots moving to the right, the target dot will appear to move upwards, as expected, but also to the left, away from the direction of the moving background20,21. The aim was to test whether the repulsion is a result of interpreting the background motion as being caused by self-motion22,23.
If this is the case, then the addition of physical rotation that is consistent with the background visual motion should lead to a stronger sense that the background motion is due to self-rotation through a stationary environment. This, in turn, should lead to a greater tendency to subtract the background motion from the target motion to get target motion relative to the stationary world23. This increased tendency to subtract would result in greater perceived target repulsion. Physical self-rotation that was either consistent with or inconsistent with the background motion was added to test this. The system presented here allowed for the precise control of physical motion and corresponding visual motion to test this hypothesis. In the example, the chair motion was under the direct control of the observer using the VR system&#39;s hand-held controller.
Although there are many examples of motorized rotating chairs for various VR applications in the literature 24,25,26,27,28,29, the authors are unaware of a concise set of instructions for making such a chair and integrating it into an interactive VR experience. Limited instructions are available for the SwiVRChair29, which is similar in structure to the one presented here but that is designed with a different purpose in mind, that is, to be driven by a computer program to improve immersion in a VR environment, where chair movement can be overridden by the user by placing their feet on the ground. Given the expense of commercially available chairs30,31, making one &#34;in-house&#34; may be a more viable option for some researchers. For those in this situation, the protocol below should be of use.
System overview 
The protocol consists of instructions for converting an office chair into an electrically driven rotating chair and integrating the chair movement into a VR experience. The entire system, once complete, is composed of four parts: the mechanical, electrical, software, and VR subsystems. A photograph of the complete system is shown in Figure 1. The system shown was the one used in the example experiment.
The job of the mechanical subsystem is to physically rotate the upper shaft of a swivel chair via a motor. It consists of an office chair to which two things are attached: a pulley fixed to the upper rotating shaft of the office chair and an adjustable mounting frame attached to the lower fixed part of the shaft. An electric stepper motor is attached to the mount, which has a pulley attached to its shaft that lines up with the pulley on the upper shaft of the office chair. A belt couples the motor pulley to the chair pulley, allowing the motor to spin the chair.
The electrical subsystem provides power to the motor and allows the electronic control of the motor. It consists of a motor driver, a power supply for the motor, an Arduino board for interfacing the driver with a computer, and a power supply for the Arduino (optional). An Arduino board is a popular small board among hobbyists and professional makers of anything electronic, which contains a programmable microprocessor, controllers, input and output pins, and (in some models) a USB port (required here). All the electrical components are housed in a custom-modified electrically insulated box. As mains power is required for the transformer that provides power to the motor and for the (optional) Arduino power supply, and as the motor requires high operating voltages, all but the low-voltage electronic work (protocol steps 2.5 to 2.10 below) should be performed by a qualified individual.
The software subsystem consists of Arduino software for programming the Arduino, Unity software for creating the VR environment, Steam software for driving the VR system, and Ardity&#8211;a Unity plugin that allows Unity to communicate with the Arduino board. This software was installed on a Gygabyte Sabre 15WV8 laptop running Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise for the example experiment (Figure 1).
The VR system consists of a Head-mounted Display (HMD), a hand-held controller, and base stations for determining the position and orientation of the HMD and controller in space. The VR system used for this project was the HTC Vive Pro (Figure 1).
Described below is the procedure for combining these components to achieve a virtual experience that incorporates physical rotation (experiment or otherwise) with chair motion controlled by the observer via the hand-held controller or by the host/experimenter via a computer mouse or a potentiometer. The final part of the protocol consists of the steps necessary to initiate the VR experience. Note that the method for coding Unity to allow for trials and data collection is beyond the scope of this manuscript. Some steps, particularly for the mechanical subsystem, require certain workshop equipment and a certain level of skill. In principle, the presented methods can be adjusted to suit the availability of those resources. Alternatives are offered for some of the more technical steps.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>48 V DC power supply (motor)</td>
			<td>Meanwell</td>
			<td>RSP-320-48</td>
			<td>https://www.meanwellaustralia.com.au/products/rsp-320</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>5 V DC power supply (arduino)</td>
			<td>Jaycar</td>
			<td>MP3295</td>
			<td>https://www.jaycar.com.au/15w-5v-3a-enclosed-power-supply/p/MP3295?pos=5&#38;queryId=dda344422ab16c6 
			7f558551ac0acbd40</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ardity plugin for Unity</td>
			<td>Open Source</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>https://ardity.dwilches.com/</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Arduino MEGA 2560</td>
			<td>Jaycar</td>
			<td>XC4420</td>
			<td>https://www.jaycar.com.au/duinotech-mega-2560-r3-board-for-arduino/p/XC4420?pos=2&#38;queryId=901771805f4bf6e0 
			ec31d41601d14dc3</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Arduino software</td>
			<td>Arduino</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>https://www.arduino.cc/en/software</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Belt</td>
			<td>Motion Dynamics</td>
			<td>RFTB10010</td>
			<td>Choose a size that suits the application. We used 60 tooth. https://www.motiondynamics.com.au/polyurethane-timing-belts-16mm-t-10/</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bracket bolts (holding motor)</td>
			<td>The Fastner Factory</td>
			<td>161260</td>
			<td>x 4. https://www.thefastenerfactory.com.au/bolts-and-nuts/all-stainless-bolts/stainless-button-socket-head-cap-screws/stainless-steel-button-socket-head-cap-screw-m6-x-35mm-100pc</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bracket bolts (not holding motor)</td>
			<td>The Fastner Factory</td>
			<td>161258</td>
			<td>x 4. https://www.thefastenerfactory.com.au/bolts-and-nuts/all-stainless-bolts/stainless-button-socket-head-cap-screws/stainless-steel-button-socket-head-cap-screw-m6-x-25mm-100pc</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Clamp Angle Iron</td>
			<td>Austral Wright Metals</td>
			<td>50004813</td>
			<td>x 2. https://www.australwright.com.au/products/stainless-steel/stainless-steel-bar-round-flat-angle-square/</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Clamp bolts</td>
			<td>The Fastner Factory</td>
			<td>161265</td>
			<td>x 4. https://www.thefastenerfactory.com.au/bolts-and-nuts/all-stainless-bolts/stainless-button-socket-head-cap-screws/stainless-steel-button-socket-head-cap-screw-m6-x-70mm-100pc&#160;&#160;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Clamp leaves (stainless flat bar)</td>
			<td>Austral Wright Metals</td>
			<td>50004687</td>
			<td>x 8. https://www.australwright.com.au/products/stainless-steel/stainless-steel-bar-round-flat-angle-square/</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cover (acrylic)</td>
			<td>Bunnings Warehouse</td>
			<td>1010489</td>
			<td>https://www.bunnings.com.au/suntuf-900-x-600-x-5mm-grey-acrylic-sheet_p1010489</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cover bolts/nuts</td>
			<td>Bunnings Warehouse</td>
			<td>247292</td>
			<td>x 4. https://www.bunnings.com.au/pinnacle-m3-x-16mm-stainless-steel-hex-head-bolts-and-nuts-12-pack_p0247292</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cover brackets</td>
			<td>Bunnings Warehouse</td>
			<td>44061</td>
			<td>x 4. https://www.bunnings.com.au/zenith-20mm-zinc-plated-angle-bracket-16-pack_p0044061</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Emergency shut-off switch</td>
			<td>Jaycar</td>
			<td>SP0786</td>
			<td>https://www.jaycar.com.au/latching-emergency-stop-switch/p/SP0786?pos=1&#38;queryId=5abe9876cf78dc3d 
			d26b9067fbc36f74</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hybrid stepper motor and driver</td>
			<td>Vevor</td>
			<td>?</td>
			<td>Closed Loop Stepper Motor Nema 34 12NM Servo Motor Hybrid Driver https://vevor.com.au/products/1712oz-in-nema34-closed-loop-stepper-motor-12nm-hybrid-servo-driver-hsc86-kit?variant=33058303311975</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>IEC mains power connector</td>
			<td>RS components</td>
			<td>811-7213</td>
			<td>https://au.rs-online.com/web/p/iec-connectors/8117213</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Instrument case (housing)</td>
			<td>Jaycar</td>
			<td>HB6381</td>
			<td>https://www.jaycar.com.au/abs-instrument-case-with-purge-valve-mpv2/p/HB6381</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>LED</td>
			<td>Jaycar</td>
			<td>ZD0205</td>
			<td>https://www.jaycar.com.au/green-10mm-led-100mcd-round-diffused/p/ZD0205?pos=11&#38;queryId=e596cbd3d71e86 
			37ab9340cee51175e7&#38;sort= 
			relevance</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Main pulley (chair)</td>
			<td>Motion Dynamics</td>
			<td>ALTP10020</td>
			<td>Choose a size that suits the application. More teeth = slower rotation. We used 36 tooth. https://www.motiondynamics.com.au/timing-pulleys-t10-16mm.html</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Motor attachment bars (Stainless flat bar)</td>
			<td>Austral Wright Metals</td>
			<td>50004687</td>
			<td>x 4. https://www.australwright.com.au/products/stainless-steel/stainless-steel-bar-round-flat-angle-square/</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mounting brackets (stainless flat bar)</td>
			<td>Austral Wright Metals</td>
			<td>50004687</td>
			<td>x 2. https://www.australwright.com.au/products/stainless-steel/stainless-steel-bar-round-flat-angle-square/</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Nuts</td>
			<td>The Fastner Factory</td>
			<td>161989</td>
			<td>x 12. https://www.thefastenerfactory.com.au/stainless-steel-hex-nylon-insert-lock-nut-m6-100pc</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>On/off switch</td>
			<td>Jaycar</td>
			<td>SK0982</td>
			<td>https://www.jaycar.com.au/dpdt-illuminated-rocker-large-red/p/SK0982?pos=4&#38;queryId=88e0c5abfa682b74 
			fa631c6d513abc73&#38;sort=relevance</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Potentiometer</td>
			<td>Jaycar</td>
			<td>RP8610</td>
			<td>https://www.jaycar.com.au/10k-ohm-logarithmic-a-single-gang-9mm-potentiometer/p/RP8610?pos=4&#38;queryId=0d1510281ba100d 
			174b8e3d7f806a020</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Pulley screws</td>
			<td>The Fastner Factory</td>
			<td>155856</td>
			<td>x 5. https://www.thefastenerfactory.com.au/stainless-steel-hex-socket-head-cap-screw-m4-x-25mm-100pc</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>resistor 150 Ohm</td>
			<td>Jaycar</td>
			<td>RR2554</td>
			<td>https://www.jaycar.com.au/150-ohm-1-watt-carbon-film-resistors-pack-of-2/p/RR2554?pos=19&#38;queryId=48c6317c73fd361 
			a42c835398d282c4a&#38;sort= 
			relevance</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Small pulley (motor)</td>
			<td>Motion Dynamics</td>
			<td>ALTP10020</td>
			<td>Choose a size that suits the application. More teeth = faster rotation. We used 24 tooth. https://www.motiondynamics.com.au/timing-pulleys-t10-16mm.html</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Small toggle switch</td>
			<td>Jaycar</td>
			<td>ST0555</td>
			<td>https://www.jaycar.com.au/sealed-mini-toggle-switch/p/ST0555?pos=14&#38;queryId=066b989a151d83 
			31885c6cec92fba517&#38;sort= 
			relevance</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Steam software</td>
			<td>Valve Corporation</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>https://store.steampowered.com/</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>SteamVR plugin for Steam</td>
			<td>Valve Corporation</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>https://store.steampowered.com/app/250820/SteamVR/</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Unity software</td>
			<td>Unity Technologies</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>https://unity3d.com/get-unity/download</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>VR system</td>
			<td>Scorptec</td>
			<td>99HANW007-00</td>
			<td>HTC Vive Pro with controllers and base stations. https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/gaming-peripherals/vr/72064-99hanw007-00?gclid=Cj0KCQiA5OuNBhCRARIsA 
			CgaiqX8NjXZ9F6ilIpVmYEhhanm 
			GA67xLzllk5EmjuG0gnhu4xmiE 
			_RwSgaAhn8EALw_wcB</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

controlled rotation of human observers in a virtual reality environment

The low cost and availability of Virtual Reality (VR) systems have supported a recent acceleration of research into perception and behavior under more naturalistic, multisensory, and immersive conditions. One area of research that has particularly benefited from the use of VR systems is multisensory integration, for example, the integration of visual and vestibular cues to give rise to a sense of self-motion. For this reason, an accessible method for the controlled physical rotation of an observer in a virtual environment represents a useful innovation. This paper presents a method for automating the rotation of an office swivel chair along with a method for integrating that motion into a VR experience. Using an example experiment, it is demonstrated that the physical motion, thus produced, is integrated with the visual experience of an observer in a way consistent with expectations; high integration when the motion is congruent with the visual stimulus and low integration when the motion is incongruent.

The aim of the example experiment was to determine whether the addition of physical rotation&#8211;either congruent or incongruent with the visual background motion in a scene&#8211;affected the perceived direction of a moving target in that scene. A difference between congruent and incongruent physical motion was expected based on the hypothesis that the background motion affects the perceived target direction according to how readily the visual system of a participant assigns the cause of background motion to self-moti...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Controlled Rotation of Human Observers in a Virtual Reality Environment at JoVE.com

Controlled Rotation of Human Observers in a Virtual Reality Environment

The controlled physical rotation of a human observer is desirable for certain experimental, recreational, and educational applications. This paper outlines a method for converting an office swivel chair into a medium for controlled physical rotation in a virtual reality environment.

The low cost and availability of Virtual Reality (VR) systems have supported a recent acceleration of research into perception and behavior under more ...

When you move through the world you get visual and vestibular signals about how you and the objects around you are moving. This setup allows you to manipulate those signals independently. This is an affordable way to have controlled movement of a person in an immersive audio visual environment using parts that are readily available like an office chair.My advice for this whole chair system is to get the electronics and the motor working the way you want it to before putting anything together properly. Begin by connecting the Arduino board to the computer using a USB cable. Under the tools dropdown menu, select the port to which the Arduino board is attached.Then select the appropriate board, followed by the processor. Make sure it matches the actual board and processor. Here, the sample Arduino code provided can be pasted.Verify and save the Arduino code. Then, upload it to the Arduino board using the upload button. Plug in and turn on the electrical subsystem.Then, flick the small toggle switch to a position where the small LED indicator light turns on, and turn the potentiometer dial to ensure that it controls the speed and direction of the chair. The chair speed and direction should vary with the potentiometer position. Next, open a new or existing Unity project.To import the SteamVR plugin, first, make sure that you are signed in to your Unity account. Then, click on window and asset store to open the asset store in a web browser. Search for SteamVR.Select SteamVR plugin, and click on, add to my assets. Back in Unity, select package manager under the window tab. Select my assets.Then, click on import under SteamVR and follow the prompts to complete the import. Click on accept all to make the configurational changes and follow the prompts. Look for a new asset called SteamVR in the project window on the inspector screen.Expand the SteamVR asset folder, followed by prefabs. Drag the camera rig asset into the hierarchy window to allow the use of the VR headset and controllers in the game. Remove the default main camera from the hierarchy or scene, as it will interfere with the SteamVR camera.Next, search for the Ardity plugin using the same process used for SteamVR. Next, create the objects needed for the experiment. To do this click on game object and select 3D object.For example, here is a plane called background that is positioned in the background of the camera view. The background can be locked into position relative to the head mounted display. To add functionality to the scene, click on the add component button in the inspector window and select new script.Call the script, setup trial. The default code here should be replaced with the code in the provided setup trial file. It is the minimum code required to get the chair moving correctly.Go back to Unity. The new setup trial script is now attached to the background object. Under the assets folder in the project window, open the Ardity folder, followed by the scripts folder.Drag the serial controller script into the background game object in the hierarchy window. Scroll down the list of components in the inspector window to locate the serial controller script. Ensure that the port name and board rate match those for the Arduino program.Drag the background object from the hierarchy window to the input box, next to the message listener in the inspector window. Click on add component at the bottom of the inspector window and select new script. Name, the new script chair controller.The chair controller script provided can be pasted into this file. At a minimum, a function is needed that turns the user actions into a number between zero and 1, 023. Then, use the serial controller dot send serial message function to send the number to the Arduino, and save the script.Back in Unity, drag the head mounted display object from the hierarchy window to the input box next to head. Then, drag the right controller object to the input box next to hand. Scroll down in the inspector window to find the setup trial script public variables.According to the sample code input type, three is for the VR controller, and four is for the mouse control. Here, the VR controller is being selected. With the SteamVR app turned off, when you press the play button in Unity for the first time you'll get error messages related to SteamVR actions.Follow the prompts to configure SteamVR actions. Close the settings window and deal with any other prompts from SteamVR. Finally, press the play button to begin the VR experience.With these settings, the user is able to rotate the chair using the VR controller. A schematic representation of the observer's actions and the resulting chair and scene changes during the experiment is shown here. In the congruent condition, if the observer moves the controller to their left, the chair also moves leftwards and the visual background moves in the opposite direction, as if it were a stationary scene against which the person is rotating.In the incongruent condition, the chair moves in the opposite direction making the chair motion incongruent with a visual background motion. Shown here is a screenshot of the stimulus area of the visual display. The small patterned patches stayed in place the whole time, but the patterns inside them moved as if each patch was a window into the larger moving object.The patches lying on the ring comprised the target, and the other patches made up the background. In this example video, the target is moving vertically upwards and the background is moving to the right. The moving background creates an illusion of leftward of motion in the target, making it appear to move upwards, and to the left.This illusory leftward motion is referred to as induced motion. The target ring had a radius of five degrees visual angle and the background area subtended 20 degrees by 20 degrees. The strength of the induced motion effect under the congruent and incongruent motion conditions is represented by the value of the parameter beta.The representative image shows the mean beta values for each observer in the congruent and incongruent conditions. As would be expected, if observers assumed that the background motion was caused by their own motion through a still world, the average beta value for the congruent condition is close to one. Except for one observer, the beta value of all observers decreased in the incongruent chair motion condition.This data indicates a decreased likelihood to view the visual background motion as being caused by the observer's physical motion. You want to make sure that your chair pulley and your motor pulley are aligned really well, And that the belt tension is good. A little bit of flex in the belt, but not much.You can control the visual and auditory cues using the headset, and then separately you can have motor controlled or foot powered body motion. There's a lot to play with.

controlled-rotation-human-observers-virtual-reality

Research

JoVE Journal

Behavior

Two-photon Calcium Imaging in Mice Navigating a Virtual Reality Environment

In recent years, two-photon imaging has become an invaluable tool in neuroscience, as it allows for chronic measurement of the activity of genetically identified cells during behavior1-6. Here we describe methods to perform two-photon imaging in mouse cortex while the animal navigates a virtual reality environment. We focus on the aspects of the experimental procedures that are key to imaging in a behaving animal in a brightly lit virtual environment. The key problems that arise in this experimental setup that we here address are: minimizing brain motion related artifacts, minimizing light leak from the virtual reality projection system, and minimizing laser induced tissue damage. We also provide sample software to control the virtual reality environment and to do pupil tracking. With these procedures and resources it should be possible to convert a conventional two-photon microscope for use in behaving mice.

Here we describe the experimental procedures involved in two-photon imaging of mouse cortex during behavior in a virtual reality environment.

In recent years, two-photon imaging has become an invaluable tool in neuroscience, as it allows for chronic measurement of the activity of genetically ...

Development of a Virtual Reality Assessment of Everyday Living Skills

Cognitive impairments affect the majority of patients with schizophrenia and these impairments predict poor long term psychosocial outcomes.&#160; Treatment studies aimed at cognitive impairment in patients with schizophrenia not only require demonstration of improvements on cognitive tests, but also evidence that any cognitive changes lead to clinically meaningful improvements.&#160; Measures of &#8220;functional capacity&#8221; index the extent to which individuals have the potential to perform skills required for real world functioning. &#160;Current data do not support the recommendation of any single instrument for measurement of functional capacity.&#160; The Virtual Reality Functional Capacity Assessment Tool (VRFCAT) is a novel, interactive gaming based measure of functional capacity that uses a realistic simulated environment to recreate routine activities of daily living. Studies are currently underway to evaluate and establish the VRFCAT&#8217;s sensitivity, reliability, validity, and practicality.&#160;This new measure of functional capacity is practical, relevant, easy to use, and has several features that improve validity and sensitivity of measurement of function in clinical trials of patients with CNS disorders.

A challenge for proving treatment efficacy for cognitive impairments in schizophrenia is finding the optimizing measurement of skills related to everyday functioning.&#160; The Virtual Reality Functional Capacity Assessment Tool (VRFCAT) is an interactive gaming based computerized measure aimed at skills associated with everyday functioning, including baseline impairments and treatment related changes.

Cognitive impairments affect the majority of patients with schizophrenia and these impairments predict poor long term psychosocial outcomes.&#160; ...

A Protocol for Housing Mice in an Enriched Environment

Environmental enrichment (EE) is a housing environment for mice that boosts mental and physical health compared to standard laboratory housing. Our recent studies demonstrate that environmental enrichment decreases adiposity, increases energy expenditure, resists diet induced obesity, and causes cancer remission and inhibition in mice. EE typically consists of larger living space, a variety of &#8216;toys&#8217; to interact with, running wheels, and can include a number of other novel environmental changes. All of this fosters a more complex social engagement, cognitive and physical stimulations. Importantly, the toy location and type of toy is changed regularly, which encourages the mice to adapt to a frequently changing and novel environment. Many variables can be manipulated in EE to promote health effects in mice. Thus these approaches are difficult to control and must be properly managed to successfully replicate the associated phenotypes. Therefore, the goal of this video is to demonstrate how EE is properly set up and maintained to assure a complex, challenging, and controlled environment so that other researchers can easily reproduce the protective effects of EE against obesity and cancer.

Environmental enrichment for mice requires a complex and challenging setup, as well as comprehensive husbandry and handling techniques to assure robust metabolic and anti-cancer effects in the mice. This protocol provides detailed procedures to reproduce the above mentioned effects in mice.

Environmental enrichment (EE) is a housing environment for mice that boosts mental and physical health compared to standard laboratory housing. Our recent ...

Multifunctional Setup for Studying Human Motor Control Using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Electromyography, Motion Capture, and Virtual Reality

The study of neuromuscular control of movement in humans is accomplished with numerous technologies. Non-invasive methods for investigating neuromuscular function include transcranial magnetic stimulation, electromyography, and three-dimensional motion capture. The advent of readily available and cost-effective virtual reality solutions has expanded the capabilities of researchers in recreating &#8220;real-world&#8221; environments and movements in a laboratory setting. Naturalistic movement analysis will not only garner a greater understanding of motor control in healthy individuals, but also permit the design of experiments and rehabilitation strategies that target specific motor impairments (e.g. stroke). The combined use of these tools will lead to increasingly deeper understanding of neural mechanisms of motor control. A key requirement when combining these data acquisition systems is fine temporal correspondence between the various data streams. This protocol describes a multifunctional system&#8217;s overall connectivity, intersystem signaling, and the temporal synchronization of recorded data. Synchronization of the component systems is primarily accomplished through the use of a customizable circuit, readily made with off the shelf components and minimal electronics assembly skills.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation, electromyography, and 3D motion capture are commonly used non-invasive techniques for investigating neuromuscular function in humans. In this paper, we describe a protocol that synchronously samples data generated by all three of these tools along with the unique addition of virtual reality stimulus presentation and feedback.

The study of neuromuscular control of movement in humans is accomplished with numerous technologies. Non-invasive methods for investigating neuromuscular ...

Evaluation of a Smartphone-based Human Activity Recognition System in a Daily Living Environment

An evaluation method that includes continuous activities in a daily-living environment was developed for Wearable Mobility Monitoring Systems (WMMS) that attempt to recognize user activities. Participants performed a pre-determined set of daily living actions within a continuous test circuit that included mobility activities (walking, standing, sitting, lying, ascending/descending stairs), daily living tasks (combing hair, brushing teeth, preparing food, eating, washing dishes), and subtle environment changes (opening doors, using an elevator, walking on inclines, traversing staircase landings, walking outdoors). 
To evaluate WMMS performance on this circuit, fifteen able-bodied participants completed the tasks while wearing a smartphone at their right front pelvis. The WMMS application used smartphone accelerometer and gyroscope signals to classify activity states. A gold standard comparison data set was created by video-recording each trial and manually logging activity onset times. Gold standard and WMMS data were analyzed offline. Three classification sets were calculated for each circuit: (i) mobility or immobility, ii) sit, stand, lie, or walking, and (iii) sit, stand, lie, walking, climbing stairs, or small standing movement. Sensitivities, specificities, and F-Scores for activity categorization and changes-of-state were calculated.
The mobile versus immobile classification set had a sensitivity of 86.30% &#177; 7.2% and specificity of 98.96% &#177; 0.6%, while the second prediction set had a sensitivity of 88.35% &#177; 7.80% and specificity of 98.51% &#177; 0.62%. For the third classification set, sensitivity was 84.92% &#177; 6.38% and specificity was 98.17 &#177; 0.62. F1 scores for the first, second and third classification sets were 86.17 &#177; 6.3, 80.19 &#177; 6.36, and 78.42 &#177; 5.96, respectively. This demonstrates that WMMS performance depends on the evaluation protocol in addition to the algorithms. The demonstrated protocol can be used and tailored for evaluating human activity recognition systems in rehabilitation medicine where mobility monitoring may be beneficial in clinical decision-making.

A standardized evaluation method was developed for Wearable Mobility Monitoring Systems (WMMS) that includes continuous activities in a realistic daily living environment. Testing with a series of daily living activities can decrease activity recognition sensitivity; therefore, realistic testing circuits are encouraged for valid evaluation of WMMS performance.

An evaluation method that includes continuous activities in a daily-living environment was developed for Wearable Mobility Monitoring Systems (WMMS) that ...

Using Virtual Reality to Transfer Motor Skill Knowledge from One Hand to Another

As far as acquiring motor skills is concerned, training by voluntary physical movement is superior to all other forms of training (e.g. training by observation or passive movement of trainee&#39;s hands by a robotic device). This obviously presents a major challenge in the rehabilitation of a paretic limb since voluntary control of physical movement is limited. Here, we describe a novel training scheme we have developed that has the potential to circumvent this major challenge. We exploited the voluntary control of one hand and provided real-time movement-based manipulated sensory feedback as if the other hand is moving. Visual manipulation through virtual reality (VR) was combined with a device that yokes left-hand fingers to passively follow right-hand voluntary finger movements. In healthy subjects, we demonstrate enhanced within-session performance gains of a limb in the absence of voluntary physical training. Results in healthy subjects suggest that training with the unique VR setup might also be beneficial for patients with upper limb hemiparesis by exploiting the voluntary control of their healthy hand to improve rehabilitation of their affected hand.

We describe a novel virtual-reality based setup which exploits voluntary control of one hand to improve motor-skill performance in the other (non-trained) hand. This is achieved by providing real-time movement-based sensory feedback as if the non-trained hand is moving. This new approach may be used to enhance rehabilitation of patients with unilateral hemiparesis.

As far as acquiring motor skills is concerned, training by voluntary physical movement is superior to all other forms of training (e.g. training by ...

Mobile Game-based Virtual Reality Program for Upper Extremity Stroke Rehabilitation

Stroke rehabilitation requires repetitive, intensive, goal-oriented therapy. Virtual reality (VR) has the potential to satisfy these requirements. Game-based therapy can promote patients&#39; engagement in rehabilitation therapy as a more interesting and a motivating tool. Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs can provide personalized home-based therapy with interactive communication between patients and clinicians. In this study, a mobile VR upper extremity rehabilitation program using game applications was developed. The findings from the study show that the mobile game-based VR program effectively promotes upper extremity recovery in patients with stroke. In addition, patients completed two weeks of treatment using the program without adverse effects and were generally satisfied with the program. This mobile game-based VR upper extremity rehabilitation program can substitute for some parts of the conventional therapy that are delivered one-on-one by an occupational therapist. This time-efficient, easy to implement, and clinically effective program would be a good candidate tool for tele-rehabilitation for upper extremity recovery in patients with stroke. Patients and therapists can collaborate remotely through these e-health rehabilitation programs while reducing economic and social costs.

Here, we present a protocol to develop and apply a mobile game-based virtual reality program for the recovery of upper limb dysfunction in patients with stroke. The present study shows that the mobile program is feasible and effectively promotes upper limb recovery in stroke patients.

Stroke rehabilitation requires repetitive, intensive, goal-oriented therapy. Virtual reality (VR) has the potential to satisfy these requirements. ...

Measuring the Kinematics of Daily Living Movements with Motion Capture Systems in Virtual Reality

The inability to complete instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) is a precursor to various neuropsychological diseases. Questionnaire-based assessments of IADL are easy to use but prone to subjective bias. Here, we describe a novel virtual reality (VR) test to assess two complex IADL tasks: handling financial transactions and using public transportation. While a participant performs the tasks in a VR setting, a motion capture system traces the position and orientation of the dominant hand and head in a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system. Kinematic raw data are collected and converted into &#39;kinematic performance measures,&#39; i.e., motion trajectory, moving distance, and time to completion. Motion trajectory is the path of a particular body part (e.g., dominant hand or head) in space. Moving distance refers to the total distance of the trajectory, and time to completion is how long it took to complete an IADL task. These kinematic measures could discriminate patients with cognitive impairment from healthy controls. The development of this kinematic measuring protocol allows detection of early IADL-related cognitive impairments.

We designed a virtual reality test to assess instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) with a motion capture system. We propose a detailed kinematic analysis to interpret the participant&#39;s various movements, including trajectory, moving distance, and time to completion to evaluate IADL capabilities.

The inability to complete instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) is a precursor to various neuropsychological diseases. Questionnaire-based ...

A Networked Desktop Virtual Reality Setup for Decision Science and Navigation Experiments with Multiple Participants

Investigating the interactions among multiple participants is a challenge for researchers from various disciplines, including the decision sciences and spatial cognition. With a local area network and dedicated software platform, experimenters can efficiently monitor the behavior of the participants that are simultaneously immersed in a desktop virtual environment and digitalize the collected data. These capabilities allow for experimental designs in spatial cognition and navigation research that would be difficult (if not impossible) to conduct in the real world. Possible experimental variations include stress during an evacuation, cooperative and competitive search tasks, and other contextual factors that may influence emergent crowd behavior. However, such a laboratory requires maintenance and strict protocols for data collection in a controlled setting. While the external validity of laboratory studies with human participants is sometimes questioned, a number of recent papers suggest that the correspondence between real and virtual environments may be sufficient for studying social behavior in terms of trajectories, hesitations, and spatial decisions. In this article, we describe a method for conducting experiments on decision-making and navigation with up to 36 participants in a networked desktop virtual reality setup (i.e., the Decision Science Laboratory or DeSciL). This experiment protocol can be adapted and applied by other researchers in order to set up a networked desktop virtual reality laboratory.

This paper describes a method for conducting multi-user experiments on decision-making and navigation using a networked computer laboratory.

Investigating the interactions among multiple participants is a challenge for researchers from various disciplines, including the decision sciences and ...

Virtual Reality Experiments with Physiological Measures

Virtual reality (VR) experiments are increasingly employed because of their internal and external validity compared to real-world observation and laboratory experiments, respectively. VR is especially useful for geographic visualizations and investigations of spatial behavior. In spatial behavior research, VR provides a platform for studying the relationship between navigation and physiological measures (e.g., skin conductance, heart rate, blood pressure). Specifically, physiological measures allow researchers to address novel questions and constrain previous theories of spatial abilities, strategies, and performance. For example, individual differences in navigation performance may be explained by the extent to which changes in arousal mediate the effects of task difficulty. However, the complexities in the design and implementation of VR experiments can distract experimenters from their primary research goals and introduce irregularities in data collection and analysis. To address these challenges, the Experiments in Virtual Environments (EVE) framework includes standardized modules such as participant training with the control interface, data collection using questionnaires, the synchronization of physiological measurements, and data storage. EVE also provides the necessary infrastructure for data management, visualization, and evaluation. The present paper describes a protocol that employs the EVE framework to conduct navigation experiments in VR with physiological sensors. The protocol lists the steps necessary for recruiting participants, attaching the physiological sensors, administering the experiment using EVE, and assessing the collected data with EVE evaluation tools. Overall, this protocol will facilitate future research by streamlining the design and implementation of VR experiments with physiological sensors.

Virtual reality (VR) experiments can be difficult to implement and require meticulous planning. This protocol describes a method for the design and implementation of VR experiments that collect physiological data from human participants. The Experiments in Virtual Environments (EVE) framework is employed to accelerate this process.