RUI: Improving motor learning and rehabilitation via experimental bidirectional dynamic human-virtual reality interaction system

RUI：通过实验性双向动态人机虚拟现实交互系统改善运动学习和康复

• 批准号: 2225135
• 负责人: Jacob Hinkel-Lipsker
• 金额: $ 78.81万
• 依托单位: The University Corporation, Northridge
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-01 至 2025-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2225135&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Improving; motor; learning; rehabilitation

This grant supports research that generates new knowledge of how humans and virtual reality systems interact to help learn motor skills for physical rehabilitation. When humans put on a virtual reality headset, they are transported into an immersive digital world that can be anything or anywhere. Recent advancements of virtual reality systems make it so that these digital worlds closely mimic the real-world -- opening up many possibilities to train rehabilitative skills. However, in order for this potential to be fully realized, a better understanding of the components of immersive virtual environments that translate to real-world motor skill development is needed. Correspondingly, this award supports the fundamental research of human movements and experiences linked to learning in virtual reality environments that best fit their learning needs. Findings from the current study will benefit the U.S. economy and society as many schools and workplaces are using virtual reality systems to provide people with scalable training of complex motor skills. To properly examine the complexities of motor learning in virtual worlds, this project involves researchers from several disciplines including mechanical engineering, kinesiology, psychology, and vision science. Moreover, the multi-disciplinary approach of this project helps broaden participation of underrepresented groups, along with aids to bridge gaps between engineering and social science research fields. The multidisciplinary research team in this project will develop two dynamic human-virtual reality interaction systems—one involving walking through a virtual world while avoiding obstacles, and the other controlling a prosthetic arm and hand with a foot controller. Each system includes a virtual reality headset with strategically designed adaptive environments that scale to the skill level of the user, and other subsystems to record vital user data such as gait, eye gaze behaviors, and toe tapping events (while controlling the prosthesis). The developed systems rely on various sensors, such as eye trackers, 3D motion capture systems, foot controller insoles, that can fully capture the biomechanics of the users and their strategies in performing the assigned tasks. Analyzing the collected data will lead to clearer understanding of the bidirectional relationships between humans and the virtual reality systems during motor learning or rehabilitation tasks—humans enhancing their skills, and the VR system adapting to the user needs. This research will fill a knowledge gap in the human-virtual reality interaction research by demonstrating the potential of virtual reality to improve learning and rehabilitation through the designed systems.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

这项拨款支持的研究产生了人类和虚拟现实系统如何相互作用的新知识，以帮助学习身体康复的运动技能。当人们戴上虚拟现实耳机时，他们就被传送到一个身临其境的数字世界，这个世界可以是任何地方或任何地方。虚拟现实系统的最新进展使这些数字世界与现实世界紧密模仿，为训练康复技能开辟了许多可能性。然而，为了充分实现这一潜力，我们需要更好地理解沉浸式虚拟环境的组成部分，并将其转化为现实世界的运动技能发展。相应地，该奖项支持在最适合他们学习需求的虚拟现实环境中与学习相关的人类运动和经验的基础研究。目前的研究结果将有利于美国经济和社会，因为许多学校和工作场所正在使用虚拟现实系统为人们提供复杂运动技能的可扩展培训。为了正确地研究虚拟世界中运动学习的复杂性，该项目涉及来自多个学科的研究人员，包括机械工程、运动学、心理学和视觉科学。此外，该项目的多学科方法有助于扩大代表性不足群体的参与，并有助于弥合工程和社会科学研究领域之间的差距。该项目的多学科研究团队将开发两个动态的人-虚拟现实交互系统——一个涉及在虚拟世界中行走时避开障碍物，另一个涉及用脚控制器控制假肢手臂和手。每个系统包括一个虚拟现实头戴式耳机，该耳机具有战略设计的适应环境，可扩展到用户的技能水平，以及其他子系统，以记录重要的用户数据，如步态，眼睛注视行为和脚趾敲击事件（同时控制假肢）。开发的系统依赖于各种传感器，如眼动仪，3D运动捕捉系统，足部控制器鞋垫，可以充分捕捉用户的生物力学和他们执行指定任务的策略。分析收集到的数据将使我们更清楚地了解在运动学习或康复任务中，人类和虚拟现实系统之间的双向关系——人类提高他们的技能，VR系统适应用户的需求。本研究将通过所设计的系统展示虚拟现实在改善学习和康复方面的潜力，填补人与虚拟现实交互研究的知识空白。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。