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VR Stress Tester

The VR Stress Tester is designed to analyze how people respond under stress. It involves participants being immersed in various challenging scenarios within a virtual environment. During this process, researchers can alter elements of the scenario and simultaneously track the participants' biometric data, such as heart rate and stress levels, in real-time.

Timeline
Feb – Dec 2022
Category
VR research tool
Tools
Unity, C#
VR Stress Tester, cover image

The VR Stress Tester is an innovative research tool designed to analyze how people respond to various stressors in controlled virtual environments. Participants are immersed in challenging scenarios while researchers monitor their biometric data, providing valuable insights for psychology and therapeutic applications.

Acknowledgements

This project was developed for the VESL Lab at the School of Communications, at the request of Firdaus S. Dhabhar, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami. All rights to this project are retained by the lab and its creators. The project is intended for educational and research purposes only.

Firdaus S. Dhabar, Ph.D.

View Project on VESL Lab Website

The VR Stress Tester was developed to provide a platform for psychological research into stress responses. By immersing participants in various virtual scenarios, researchers can manipulate environmental factors and stress levels in real-time, allowing for a comprehensive analysis of physiological and psychological responses to stress.

Project Overview

  • Technical Requirements
  • Iterative Development: Scenario Design and Environment Setup
  • Iterative Development: Bridge Design and Integration
  • Iterative Development: Dynamic Scenario Features
  • Final Integration and Testing

Technical Requirements

The VR Stress Tester required a robust technical foundation to ensure accurate simulation and data collection. Key technical requirements included:

  • Real-time rendering and performance optimization for smooth user experience in VR.
  • Integration with biometric tracking systems to monitor heart rate and stress levels.
  • Flexibility to alter scenarios dynamically during the experiment.

Technical Requirements

The development process began with designing a realistic implementation plan for the rickety bridge scenario, which would serve as the primary stressor for participants. The initial step involved creating a virtual environment that would immerse participants in a challenging yet controlled setting.

Initial setup of the virtual environment in Unity.
Initial setup of the virtual environment in Unity.

The virtual environment was designed to simulate a rocky canyon with a rickety wooden bridge. This setting was chosen for its visual impact and its ability to induce a moderate level of stress in participants. The environment was built using Unity, with asset placement to create a believable landscape.

The rocky canyon environment in the VR Stress Tester. This image showcases the initial canyon setup in its development phase, before the integration of the rickety wooden bridge.
The rocky canyon environment in the VR Stress Tester. This image showcases the initial canyon setup in its development phase, before the integration of the rickety wooden bridge.

The bottom of the canyon was designed to be separate from the sides, allowing for custom depth adjustments. This was for the purpose of allowing real-time manipulation for the experiment, such as changing the height of the canyon walls. This flexibility was crucial for conducting experiments with varying levels of stress.

Iterative Development: Bridge Design and Integration

One of the most critical components of the VR Stress Tester was the design and integration of the rickety wooden bridge. This bridge serves as a primary stressor in the initial scenario, where participants must cross it while facing various simulated challenges.

Initial concept of the wooden bridge
Initial concept of the wooden bridge

A static wooden bridge asset acted as a placeholder in the initial stages of development. This allowed for early testing of the environment and basic interactions within Unity. However, it was quickly realized that a more dynamic and interactive bridge was needed to effectively simulate stress.

Rickety wooden bridge in Blender.
Rickety wooden bridge in Blender.

The bridge was built from several assets, including wooden planks and ropes, to create a rickety appearance that would visually convey instability. The design process involved using Blender to modify the wooden planks, so that they could be implemented to randomly break or fall apart during the simulation.

Wooden planks that could break or fall apart during the simulation
Wooden planks that could break or fall apart during the simulation

Iterative Development: Dynamic Scenario Features

To enhance the realism and stress-inducing nature of the scenarios, dynamic features were added. These included environmental effects such as changing weather conditions, sounds, and interactive elements that could alter the difficulty of the scenarios based on participant performance.

The ease of controlling these dynamic features in real-time was crucial for the research aspect of the project, as it allowed researchers to manipulate the environment while monitoring participants' biometric data. For example, if a participant was handling the stress well, the researchers could increase the difficulty by adding more environmental hazards or changing the bridge's stability.

Final Integration and Testing

The entire scene of the VR Stress Tester environment, showcasing the integration of the rickety bridge and the rocky canyon.
The entire scene of the VR Stress Tester environment, showcasing the integration of the rickety bridge and the rocky canyon.

The final integration involved bringing together all components of the VR Stress Tester, including the environment, bridge, and dynamic features. Extensive testing was conducted to ensure that all elements worked harmoniously together in a VR environment. This phase included performance optimization, bug fixing, and ensuring that the educational content was effectively conveyed through the interactive experience.

Asset Credits

Rope physics and interactions in the VR Stress Tester were implemented using the Rope Tool by SideFX Software. This asset provided a robust solution for simulating realistic rope behavior, which was essential for creating immersive scenarios involving physical challenges.

Rope Tool by SideFX Software

Additionally, the following assets were used in the development of the VR Stress Tester. All assets are licensed under the Standard Unity Asset Store EULA and were crucial in achieving the visual fidelity and interactive elements of the project.