VR App for Cognitive Fitness

Introduction

This is an application designed to train cognitive fitness in a virtual reality set-up. It allows a user to be in a space with two buttons. Each of these buttons turns red at random intervals. The user then presses the red button. The time from when the button turns blue to the time the user presses the button is then displayed above the button. There is also an individual scoring system that shows the performance on each button.

Description of Application 

This application is set up in VR to train the reflexes. This could also be achieved on a regular interface but the VR aspect of it brings mobility. The distance between the two buttons is slightly far apart and has been placed this way deliberately. It takes the user some time to look at the two buttons which are hard to replicate effectively on other interfaces like computers and mobile apps.

The initial set-up of the game is a state with just red buttons. When the user clicks them for the first time, the text above the button shows the score and the button turns blue. A task delay method that runs for a random number of seconds between 1 and 5 seconds then runs. The button then turns red and the timer starts. When the user clicks the button this time, the time will be measured and an appropriate score will be displayed. If the user clicks the button when it is blue, their score is deducted. This would discourage spamming the buttons to land a lucky unrealistic reaction time.

This can also be taken further as the possibilities in VR are limitless. To train reflexes of other kinds of movements, the buttons could be placed lower than the eye level forcing users to duck down to click the buttons. Many more buttons could be placed strategically to measure how fast reaction times are. This would be a suitable training simulator for people who need fast reflexes such as athletes, motorsport drivers, etc.

Interaction Design

Interactivity in the VR setup is unmatched. The significance of the interactivity in this application is that the button could be placed further or closer, there could be more buttons and there could be animations that could help people improve their reaction times.

The design of this application could be used to train athletes for example. If the buttons are far enough, a user would have to run as fast as they possibly can to react to the changing colours of the buttons. This would build their short bursts of quick leaps to the buttons. This could be beneficial to goalkeepers in football. The design can be modified to fit a wide variety of applications in sports and motorsports.

Below is a storyboard displaying the use case of this application.

Technical Development

The application was built using Unity 3D paired with Oculus quest extensions. The buttons are created using two cylinders. The spring back mechanism and the events for the buttons were found at (RealaryVR 2021). Two events are created; the OnTriggerEnter and OnTriggerExit. Both of these methods change a Boolean variable that stores whether or not a button is pressed.

The logic of the game firstly checks if the game has been initialized or if the user has pressed the button for the first time. The update method changes the text based on this information. When the button is pressed, a time delay is executed after which the button is turned blue. In this state, if the button is pressed, the high score is reduced. The button then turns red and the timer starts awaiting the next button press.

The result is two floating buttons that the user can walk up to and click. To click the buttons, the user must use the controllers on the oculus quest. Since the hands are rigid bodies, the index finger can press the button as well as a fist. An open palm will not be able to press the button since it could lead to accidental clicks.

Description of 3D Models

The 3D model used for this is a 3D button created using two cylinders and different materials as shown in the image below

References

RealaryVR 2021, How to make a VR Button | Unity Tutorial, www.youtube.com, viewed 18 September 2022, <

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