Abstract:

The aim of the study is to perform usage analysis of VR headset in simulated stress situations. The study was performed as a student project in the Laboratory of Motion Analysis and Interface Ergonomics, which is located at Lublin University of Technology in Poland.

As a stress classifier, the intensity of negative emotions (such as fear, sadness, discomfort) was adopted. The source of the analysis was the results obtained from the electroencephalographic study, where the activity of examined person brain was measured during the virtual reality session with dedicated VR headset. The main task of this study was to answer the question: Is virtual reality (VR) technology suitable for simulating stress situations? For this purpose the case study was performed and five persons were examined. A single study session consisted of presentation with VR headset of two applications and three 360 ° films, followed by a questionnaire related to the course of research. As a result of the obtained electroencephalographic(EEEG) data analysis, a set of graphs showing changes in alpha, beta and theta rhythms during scenarios were obtained. The analysis was performed using 21 channel EEG amplifier - Mitsar EEG 201.

Results show that the low quality of the stress stimuli did not allow for a precise answer to the research question. However, the impact of VR technology on the emotional state of the subjects was observed. In order to improve the effectiveness of the research, better selected and tested VR content should be used as a stimulus. Increasing the number of people examined would also increase the statistical value of the study.

Keywords:

Virtual reality, EEG, emotion recognition.