Development of a Reminiscence Therapy System for the Elderly Using the Integration of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality

Through virtual interaction and multivariate communication, the social interaction and life satisfaction of elderly people can be improved. This study integrated virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to construct a visualized reminiscence therapy system, which provides not only reminiscence entertainment but may also aid in dementia prevention for healthy and sub-healthy (a therapeutic working concept which defines an intermediate stage between health and disease) elderly people. Images taken by an LG 360 CAM are primarily introduced into Power Director 360 as the guide interface. The special effects are joined using After Effects. With the model constructed under 3ds Max, the reminiscence therapy system integrated by virtual reality and augmented reality is then established by the Unity engine. It is shown that the developed 3D ancient building model can be used by Samsung Note 5 smartphones as well as VR CASE glasses to increase the immersive experience for the elderly. Through nostalgic elements triggered by the AR/VR three-dimensional model and video/audio interaction, the feasibility of our integrated system for reminiscence therapy is thus verified. Through reminiscence therapy, memories and thoughts can fully be activated as a therapy for elderly people. The visualized reality system developed in this study can further promote the social interactional satisfaction of elderly people.

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Acceptance and Influencing Factors of Social Virtual Reality in the Urban Elderly

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12229345 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (22) ◽

pp. 9345 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Dan Shao ◽

I-Jui Lee

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Medical Treatment ◽

Elderly People ◽

Influencing Factors ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

The Elderly ◽

Medical Needs ◽

Head Mounted Display ◽

The Social ◽

Perceived Enjoyment

In the stage of aging society and population aging, the social needs of the elderly are widely discussed by researchers. Especially driven by the demand of tele-medical treatment and tele-rehabilitation therapy, it is vital for the elderly to integrate into virtual communities by combining social virtual reality (VR) with different medical services and entertainment needs. In addition, affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, it is more difficult for people to have face-to-face contacts. With more remote consultation, entertainment and virtual social connectivity, the application of social VR is more urgent and valuable. However, there is little discussion on the acceptability and influencing factors of social VR among the elderly at present. Therefore, in order to get further data, we used (1) early stage semi-structured interviews and then (2) Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) questionnaires for investigation. One hundred fourteen elderly people aged 60–89 living in the metropolitan area of Taipei were taken as the subjects. To help them understand the situation and state of using social VR, these elderly people were asked to use a head-mounted display (HMD) to experience social VR games. The preliminary results showed that the elderly had obvious preference for entertainment (32.4%) and medical treatment (31.3%). The interview showed that this was related to the physiological condition or medical needs of the age range. In order to further understand how social VR would affect the social life of the elderly, we proposed the further demand structure of UTAUT Model based on the interview of both experts and the elderly. The model structures include (1) Performance Expectancy, (2) Perceived Enjoyment, (3) Social Influence, (4) User Attitude, (5) Behavioral Intention, and so on. These structures were applied to conduct interviews and questionnaires to find out the influence extent and relevance of the elderly on different structural needs, and suggestions were given accordingly. The results of the above interviews showed that (1) the elderly thought that the functions of entertaining and interacting of social VR could increase their social opportunities, and also meet medical needs (teleconference, cognitive decline, etc.), (2) the closeness of social relations (between family members, friends, doctors, and places), and also affect the relevance of Perceived Enjoyment (β = 0.77, p = 0.000 < 0.05). The results of these phenomena and interviews showed the interplay between the demand structures and their special relevance. They also indicated that as to social VR technologies, various demands and functional issues of the elderly need to be considered, and these demands would appear in the subtle usage, and different social VR interfaces and functions would emerge based on their special living ways and physical and psychological demands.

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A mobile augmented reality assistive technology for the elderly

Comunicar ◽

10.3916/c45-2015-07 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 23 (45) ◽

pp. 65-74 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Rafael Saracchini ◽

Carlos Catalina-Ortega ◽

Luca Bordoni

Keyword(s):

Augmented Reality ◽

Elderly People ◽

Life Quality ◽

The Elderly ◽

Modern Technology ◽

Internet Communication ◽

Goal State ◽

Calidad De Vida ◽

The Social ◽

Augmented Reality Technology

Modern technology offers many facilities, but elderly people are often unable to enjoy them fully because they feel discouraged or intimidated by modern devices, and hus become progressively isolated in a society where Internet communication and ICT knowledge are essential. In this paper we present a study performed during the Nacodeal Project, which aims to offer a technological solution that may improve elderly people's every day autonomy and life quality through the integration of ICTs. In order to achieve this goal, state-of-art Augmented Reality technology was developed along with carefully designed Internet services and interfaces for mobile devices. Such technology only requires the infrastructure which already exists in most residences and health-care centres. We present the design of a prototypical system consisting of a tablet and a wearable AR system, and the evaluation of its impact on the social interaction of its users as well its acceptance and usability. This evaluation was performed, through focus groups and individual pilot tests, on 48 participants that included elderly people, caregivers and experts. Their feedback leads us to the conclusion that there are significant benefits to be gained and much interest among the elderly in assistive AR-based ICTs, particularly in relation to the communication and autonomy that they may provide. Las posibilidades que ofrecen las tecnologías son muchas, sin embargo, las personas mayores son a menudo incapaces de disfrutar de ellas plenamente, sintiéndose desanimadas o intimidadas por estos nuevos dispositivos. Esto les lleva a un progresivo aislamiento en una sociedad donde es esencial conocer las distintas formas de comunicación a través de Internet y las TIC. En este trabajo presentamos un estudio realizado durante el proyecto Nacodeal, cuyo objetivo es ofrecer una solución tecnológica para proporcionar autonomía y una mejor calidad de vida para las personas mayores durante sus actividades diarias mediante la integración de las TIC. Para lograr este objetivo se ha desarrollado tecnología puntera en realidad aumentada (RA), así como servicios de Internet e interfaces para dispositivos móviles especialmente diseñados para personas mayores. Estas tecnologías emplean la infraestructura presente en la mayoría de casas y centros de cuidados de mayores. Presentamos un prototipo de sistema compuesto por una tableta y un dispositivo de RA portátil, así como el análisis del impacto social en la interacción con usuarios y la valoración de la aceptación y usabilidad. Esta evaluación se llevó a cabo a través de grupos focales y pruebas piloto individuales con 48 participantes: ancianos, cuidadores y expertos. Sus comentarios concluyen que existen fuertes beneficios e intereses por parte de las personas mayores en las TIC asistenciales basadas en RA, especialmente en los aspectos relacionados con la comunicación y autonomía.

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Lessons Learnt from the Socio-Technical Design of Social TV Services with Elderly

International Journal of Sociotechnology and Knowledge Development ◽

10.4018/ijskd.2014040101 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 1-16 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Malek Alaoui ◽

Myriam Lewkowicz

Keyword(s):

Elderly People ◽

Social Engagement ◽

The Elderly ◽

Technical Design ◽

Communication Services ◽

Open Questions ◽

Living Lab ◽

Social Tv ◽

The Social ◽

At Home

Encouraging elderly people to stay at home as long as possible is associated with a higher risk of social isolation. Nowadays, aging well at home cannot be reduced to the management of physical and cognitive frailties and technologies should also tackle the quality of life of the elderly by fostering their social interactions. However, designing appropriate services and ensuring their adoption remain open questions, to which we try to provide answers at the methodological and instrumental levels. The authors present here a Living Lab approach to design communication services for elderly people at home. They illustrate this approach by describing their participation in a European project aiming at developing and evaluating Social TV services and they conclude with recommendations for the successful socio-technical design of services that foster the social engagement of elderly people.

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Written Text on Pakistani Vehicles: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Journal of Communication, Language and Culture ◽

10.33093/jclc.2021.1.1.3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 40-57

Author(s):

Sidra Mahmood

Keyword(s):

Discourse Analysis ◽

Critical Discourse Analysis ◽

Social Issues ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Critical Discourse ◽

Motor Vehicles ◽

Three Dimensional Model ◽

Written Text ◽

The People ◽

The Social

Linguistically, the word ‘language’ has shifted into ‘discourse’ which is a social phenomenon not only to express the thoughts but also to reflect the mindset and contexts of a specific community. The purpose of this study is to examine the slogans written on Pakistani automobiles and to understand the logic behind the social and cultural affiliations of these slogans. Pakistani culture of the art of making pictures and written phrases, poetic verses and imperative sentences on vehicles is famous all over the world. The study has analysed the writings found on vehicles, and although these writings might look trivial on the automobiles, they address various social issues. The Three-Dimensional Model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) by Fairclough (2001) is used as a theoretical framework that explains the study at three levels: lexical, syntactic patterns, interpretations, and social practices. The discourses written on the vehicles are characterised into different categories, which are life’s mission statements, loud messages, mind baffling messages, everyday life annoyances, provoking statements, and religious looms. Twenty images and pictures have been captured from vehicles as a random sample of this study. The results reveal the mindset behind these discourses. They are used to highlight social issues which Pakistan faces, being a developing country. In short, the study discloses the strong link between the vehicles and the people using them to convey messages to the society which can bring harmony among the public. The current study is limited to only Pakistani motor vehicles.

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INTERACTIVE VISUALIZATION TECHNOLOGY IN AUGMENTED REALITY

Bulletin of the Korkyt Ata Kyzylorda University ◽

10.52081/bkaku.2021.v58.i3.080 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 58 (3) ◽

pp. 137-142

Author(s):

A.O. Dauitbayeva ◽

◽

A.A. Myrzamuratova ◽

A.B. Bexeitova ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Augmented Reality ◽

User Interfaces ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Spatial Arrangement ◽

Linear Perspective ◽

Three Dimensional Objects ◽

Visualization Technology ◽

Image Volume ◽

Dimensional Object

This article is devoted to the issues of visualization and information processing, in particular, improving the visualization of three-dimensional objects using augmented reality and virtual reality technologies. The globalization of virtual reality has led to the introduction of a new term "augmented reality"into scientific circulation. If the current technologies of user interfaces are focused mainly on the interaction of a person and a computer, then augmented reality with the help of computer technologies offers improving the interface of a person and the real world around them. Computer graphics are perceived by the system in the synthesized image in connection with the reproduction of monocular observation conditions, increasing the image volume, spatial arrangement of objects in a linear perspective, obstructing one object to another, changing the nature of shadows and tones in the image field. The experience of observation is of great importance for the perception of volume and space, so that the user "completes" the volume structure of the observed representation. Thus, the visualization offered by augmented reality in a real environment familiar to the user contributes to a better perception of three-dimensional object.

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IMPACT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY ON ROBOTICS INNOVATIONS

International Journal of Engineering Science Technologies ◽

10.29121/ijoest.v5.i6.2021.216 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (6) ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Atef ATA ◽

N. M. Fonseca Ferreira

Keyword(s):

Elderly People ◽

The Elderly ◽

Social Needs ◽

Industrial Robots ◽

Car Industry ◽

The Social ◽

Smart Mobile ◽

Robotic Applications ◽

And Robotics ◽

Indoor And Outdoor

Over the engineering history, environmental and social needs inspire the development and innovation of many wonderful applications. For example, when the industrial robots entered our industrial life, great advances especially in automotive industry where the industrial robots cover about 90 % of the car industry activities started to change our own life. As the number of elderly people is increasing rapidly all over the world, this requires us to focus on their needs as their children left them alone in our busy daily life. Mechatronics and robotics can offer many possibilities to help elderly people by providing smart solutions for their daily needs as well as entertaining them during their lonely long stay at their homes. Many companies are providing smart mobile robots in different platforms (wheeled or walking) to help the elderly people depend on themselves in receiving their food and medicine at prescheduled times. Other companies are interested in providing smart wheel chairs to help the elderly people navigate indoor and outdoor freely and conveniently without any external help. Meanwhile, some companies are providing entertainment robots in different shapes to talk, play and communicate with elderly people in a nice way. The objective of this paper is to explore the mechatronics and robotics capabilities to assist elderly people and to make their life easier, comfortable and self-governing without any external help. This paper will highlight also the effect of the environment and the social needs in inspiring new innovations. As an example, the innovations by Badi Az-Zaman Ismail Al-Jazari, a Muslim scientist, will be investigated. This paper is going to discuss also the idea and the motivation behind two of Al-Jazari’s robotic applications (Although the term robot was not coined at that time). These two devices are the washing hands and the peacock fountain. Although he used to apply mechanical structure and fluid for controlling the motion of the two devices, they were very beautiful and resemble some of the robotic applications nowadays.

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Augmented Reality Framework for the Socialization between Elderly People

Handbook of Research on ICTs for Human-Centered Healthcare and Social Care Services ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-3986-7.ch023 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 430-448 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Luis Almeida ◽

Paulo Menezes ◽

Jorge Dias

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Augmented Reality ◽

Elderly People ◽

Low Cost ◽

Well Being ◽

Artificial Vision ◽

Spatial Audio ◽

Measurement Instruments ◽

Face To Face ◽

Mind And Body

The socialization between elderly people assumes a key role on their mind and body well-being while loneliness expects to be one of major problems of our increasing age society. This research aims to study and develop a framework to support elderly people socialization when they are confined to their homes for some reason. It can be also adequate for people following some neurological or physical rehabilitation treatment remotely or monitoring behaviors in order to prevent potential diseases. This work proposes a framework that supports the socialization through Augmented Reality (AR) based on telepresence. The aim is a low cost solution that enables users to communicate and interact remotely, experiencing the benefits of a face-to-face meeting. The authors explore computers graphics, spatial audio, and artificial vision to induce sensations of being physical in the presence of other people and exploit the potential activities that such frameworks enable. TV and phones are elderly common companion devices that should be complementarily used with emergent AR technologies to enhance and create the remote presence feeling, minimizing the loneliness. Inspired by Virtual Reality (VR) studies, one of the authors’ goals is to explore if VR presence measurement instruments are useful in the AR context by reviewing literature on the area.

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Virtual reality and augmented reality applications and simulation in vascular access management with three-dimensional visualization

The Journal of Vascular Access ◽

10.1177/1129729818776904 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 20 (1_suppl) ◽

pp. 65-70

Author(s):

Itsuo Yokoyama ◽

Tsuyosi Sarai ◽

Toshinori Asai ◽

Nobuyuki Kitou ◽

Hirotaka Nozaki ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Augmented Reality ◽

Vascular Access ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Computer Assisted ◽

Access Management ◽

Computer Assisted Tomography ◽

Graphics Software ◽

Anatomical Information ◽

Tomography Scan

Obtaining adequate and precise anatomical information is mandatory to prevent vascular access–related complications in dialysis patients. For this purpose, we underwent Doppler ultrasound, vascular access angiogram, and plain computer-assisted tomography scan of the arm with vascular access. With the use of computer graphics software, the anatomical structure of the vascular access can be visualized three dimensionally which is shared among the staffs for precise and better recognition. Furthermore, created object is applicable for virtual reality and/or augmented reality presentation that provides useful means for education and practical procedures in the management of vascular access.

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Development of Multi-Parameter Phased Array Weather Radar (MP-PAWR) and Early Detection of Torrential Rainfall and Tornado Risk

Journal of Disaster Research ◽

10.20965/jdr.2019.p0235 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 235-247 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Nobuhiro Takahashi ◽

Tomoo Ushio ◽

Katsuhiro Nakagawa ◽

Fumihiko Mizutani ◽

Koyuru Iwanami ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Local Governments ◽

Phased Array ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Weather Radar ◽

Three Dimensional Model ◽

Strategic Innovation ◽

Numerical Predictions ◽

Demonstration Experiment ◽

The Social ◽

Torrential Rainfall

This paper is an overview of a project concerned with “Early warning for torrential rainfall/tornado” under “Enhancement of Societal Resiliency against Natural Disasters,” which is one of eleven themes of the SIP (Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program under the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation, the Cabinet Office, Government of Japan). The characteristics of the project are the development of a multi-parameter phased array weather radar (MP-PAWR) that enables the accomplishment of an accurate three-dimensional model of precipitation over 30 s within a 60 km radius. Various products developed ducts using MP-PAWR and other observations, and numerical predictions, are also discussed, with a demonstration experiment to provide early warnings for torrential rainfall and related disasters. For end users such as local governments and general citizens, the final goal of this project is the social implementation of these products.

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