VIRTUAL REALITY SIMULATION OF OPEN SPACE DEDICATED TO ELDERLY PEOPLE

As part of the second edition of Individual Study Programs implemented in the form of Project Based Learning at the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice (Poland), an interdisciplinary team was created comprising instructors and students from two faculties: the Faculty of Automatic Control, Electronics and Computer Science and the Faculty of Architecture.

The aim of the project was an implementation of an application using virtual reality (VR) to simulate movement in an open space (e.g. a square in a city) of a person displaying typical symptoms of elderly person's diseases such as cataract or orientation disorder.

As part of the project, various scientific and research problems were solved, consisting of the analysis, implementation, and testing of the following techniques and methods:
1) Techniques that simulate vision, hearing, and motor disorders of the elderly. A comparison also was made of available VR devices in terms of their use in the project.
2) Methods of movement simulation in a virtual environment.
3) The selection of architecture amenities supporting the elderly in moving in the open spaces (e.g. colors, contrasts, and street furniture).

The design and implementation of the application required the cooperation of people with specialist knowledge and skills in the field of computer science and universal design. During the design and implementation process, students benefited from the experience of the external organizations such as 4Experience company or Laboratory of Architecture 60+ (LAB 60+). The 4Experience company, providing services in the field of technology consulting and VR software implementation, supported the creation of the application for VR glasses, sharing the skills related to the use of VR in complex projects. Thanks to experts from LAB 60+, the space modeled in the project uses architectural solutions that take into account the requirements of the elderly.

The final effect of the project is an application using virtual reality designed for VR glasses: HTC Vive Pro. The product can be used to increase awareness among designers, investors, other participants in the open space design process, and young people (especially architects) for the problems and needs of the elderly in an attractive form - playing mini-games. In addition, the product can be used to test, in virtual reality, architectural solutions for people with various vision impairments. The application also allows for some space modifications (adding, removing, and moving virtual objects).
Additional effects of the project are digital models that can be used in other projects in the future.