VR Therapy: Multisensory Experience

The first testing occurred during the first user observation, when all four members met Ethan for the first time. The mockup we presented to Ethan was an InstaVR application about a trip to the Cubs’ game at Wrigley Field, which also includes a train ride before the game.

​

At first, Ethan said no when we asked him if he wanted to try the VR headset on. However, when Abizar started passing the headset around and asking all members to try it on, Ethan agreed to try it. He did not secure the headset with the straps when he tried it for the first time. He held the headset with his hands and looked around, and told us that the station he saw was Sheridan. After exploring the virtual environment briefly for about a minute, he passed the headset to Wu Di, who was next to him.

​

We encouraged Ethan to try on the headset for the second time, when the interface was showing Wrigley Field instead of the train station. This time, he figured out that the straps should go over his head, and secured the headset on his own. He took longer to watch the 360 video, but quickly lost his interest. He refused to try it on again after the second time.

​

We prepared a survey for Ethan, but he did not want to take it during the first observation/ tesing. Click "Survey for first testing" to see the full survey. 

Since Ethan did not show much interest in the app made with InstaVR, we decided to conduct a second testing with him using a more interactive VR headset. Abizar and Danqing took Ethan to the VR lab at Northwestern. The HTC VIVE includes two controllers that allow the user to interact with the application. The user is also able to walk around in the animated virtual world, seeing the objects from different perspectives.

​

We tried out two applications with Ethan: Tilt Brush, a 3D drawing application, and Job Simulator, a job training application that requires user to complete different tasks based on the job he chooses. The setting of the virtual world and the actions that the user takes are mirrored on the computer screen next to the testing space.

​

Ethan first observed Abizar playing Tilt Brush. When he put on the headset, he quickly started drawing random lines in the 3D space. When Abizar asked him to draw a square or a circle, he was able perform these actions successfully.

Then, he observed Danqing playing the role of an office worker in Job Simulator. He watched Danqing exploring the cubical, using the copy machine, “eating” a donut and picking things from the floor. Ethan quickly mastered the game when it was his turn. Since the setting in Job Simulator is more complicated and requires the user to complete different tasks, Ethan spent more time in the Job Simulator than Tilt Brush. He figured out how to send emails quickly, and “ate” two donuts from the same box that Danqing opened. Then, he turned his attention to the copy machine, a machine that duplicates whatever object that is put into it, and started making duplicates of different kinds of things he could find in the cubical, including document, a stapler, a computer model and toy. He kept repeating “The copy machine, the copy machine” with a cheerful voice when he performed the task, showing clear interest and satisfaction.

However, after he finished the survey with Abizar later on, he did not want to use the VR headset again for more games. This might be because he does not play computer games, as he mentioned in the conversation with Danqing during the testing.

​

Before Ethan tried on the headset, Abizar asked him if he was excited to use the HTC vive by typing the question on the computer. Ethan started typing his response instead of giving verbal feedback. So we decided to proceed with this method, and started prompting him with questions after he finished playing Job Simulator. The whole list of questions was generated on the spot by Abizar, and Ethan typed his response after each question is prompted. Questions that are critical to our analysis are highlighted in the survey.

For the third testing session, we wanted to figure out what kinds of objects and environment Ethan prefers in the VR space. We have already decided on creating a sensory room, as an alternative way to conduct sensory integration therapy for individuals with ASD.

Based on the second observation, we knew that Ethan is interested in Tilt Brush, so we decided to try out two ideas with him: 1) drawing with a friend with limited strokes; 2) exploring different environment created by other Tilt Brush users.

​

To test out the first idea, Ethan and Danqing drew a car together. Since we only had one HTC VIVE headset, the two had to take turns to draw. Danqing started first, and had only ten strokes before passing the headset to Ethan. When it was Ethan’s turn, he quickly finished drawing and passed the headset back to Danqing. He said he enjoyed the game, but did not like the stroke limit. When we asked him if he wanted to try it one more time, he was clearly not interested. He told the team that using a timer is better than having a stroke limit. We had him rated this drawing game, and he only gave a 2 upon 5 for the engaging and enjoyable aspect of the game, as shown in the rating table we let him fill up.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

For the second part of the testing, we let Ethan tried out two VR environments. The first one is a simple bedroom with some lights and a TV. Ethan walked around the space, and went inside the TV. He started waving at the “electricity strokes” inside the TV and laughed while doing that. The second environment is based on a Japanese animation Attack on Titian. There was fire around a wall, over which a giant was hunching. Ethan showed more interest in this environment, as he kept repeating “fire, fire”. He told us that he enjoyed the fire a lot, as it was bright and flickering.

We also let him tried listening to music in the VR environment. When there is music in Tilt Brush, the strokes would vibrate on the beats. He first listened to a song with distinct beats, and observed the change in the environment. Then, we asked him to choose his own music. Ethan chose Mr. Brightside and told us he just wanted to listen to the music without the headset on. Later, when we asked him to rate his experience, he rated “Listening to Mr. Brightside” the highest. He also rated these environments higher than the drawing game. We think this is largely due to the bright colors, the presence of fire and music.

​

Another take away from this session is that Ethan prefers to be alone in the environment. He does not like switching the headset too often. However, he said if we can have two users in the VR space at the same time, he might want to play with a friend in VR.

​

At the end of the session, Abizar explained out VR sensory room design concept to Ethan. Ethan told us that he prefers the actual sensory room over the virtual one, because there is no sense of touch in the VR space. However, he did agree with Abizar that one advantage of a VR sensory room is that people can design the space freely and change the design whenever they want. You can click on the VR environments survey to find out more about Ethan's feedback for the session.

​