Research: New study establishes VR’s potential for helping autistic people navigate the world
Recent technological developments have made virtual reality (VR) a hot topic in the video gaming industry. However, these new developments are also lending other areas, such as research and design, the technological ability to improve the lives of autistic people.
A new study out of the University of Georgia provides a foundation for using virtual reality and artificial intelligence (AI) to help autistic people better navigate the world.
For the study, associate professor Matthew Schmidt and his research team created a VR intervention for autistic adults called Virtuoso, which—given the dangers associated with the use of public transit—was designed specifically to support their transportation needs.
“We were interested in leveraging this technology to create immersive learning experiences for people on the autism spectrum like we’ve been doing in the past, but to use 360-degree videos to speed up the development timelines and reduce the amount of costs associated with it,” said Schmidt, who was hired under the Presidential Interdisciplinary Faculty Hiring Initiative in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and holds a joint appointment in the UGA Mary Frances Early College of Education and the College of Pharmacy.