Automated Orientation & Mobility Training in Virtual Reality for Low Vision Rehabilitation

该研究的长期目标是使用基于虚拟现实的智能定位和移动 专家(VR-IOMS)将大部分定向与移动(O&M)课程教授给低视力 (LV)患者。O&M，自我定位和独立、安全、高效地旅行的能力 环境，是独立生活和高质量生活的基础。O&M康复是唯一的 经过验证的干预措施，恢复了LV失去的行动能力。目前的运营与维护康复是由经过认证的运营与维护机构进行的 真正街道上的专家(Coms)。通讯器的短缺和分布不均，LV的行动困难 患者，重新获得独立旅行所需的长期培训，COMS时间和 低收入人口的低收入/失业状况使这项宝贵的服务无法获得， 对于许多最需要它的人来说是负担不起的。VR-IOMS是一种计算机程序，它将虚拟现实和 智能辅导技术。当VR-IOM课程通过互联网提供时，LV患者可以 在安全的虚拟环境中，以极低的成本在方便的地点和时间接受高质量的运营与维护培训。 因此，这种新的干预措施可以减少运维康复的可及性和可负担性障碍。 这项拟议的研究是建立在我们之前关于在虚拟街道上教授O&M技能的研究基础上的。它的设计目的是 检验假设，在接受治疗的LV患者中，在真实的街道O&M表现上没有差异 来自VR-IOMS的O&M培训和那些在真实街道上接受人类COMS培训的人。三 具体目标将会实现。1)设计VR-IOMS。三个VR-IOMS，用于三个重要的操作和维护任务，计时 过有信号灯的街道，选择过不受控制的街道的时间，学习户外的数字系统， 将被设计成。这涉及到通过焦点小组收集有关教授这些任务的专家知识 研究、定义智能课程流程，设计虚拟现实中的课程内容。2)实施虚拟现实-- IOMS。这涉及构建虚拟现实模拟器、开发虚拟街道场景、创作 智能课程，智能运维专家和虚拟街道场景之间的编程接口。 3)验证VR-IOMS。将进行随机训练试验，以比较VR-IOM和人类 Coms O&M培训。LV受试者将被随机从VR-IOMS学习三个O&M任务， 来自人类COMS，而且没有接受过训练。所有受试者将在COMS之前和之后被带到真正的街头 培训以评估他们的运营与维护任务绩效。三者训练前后的成绩变化 将对各组进行比较，以量化相对培训效果。如果这些VR-IOMS被证明有效， 将在未来的研究中开发和验证更多的内容。这些培训人员的临床部署将 恢复更多LV患者的自由行。VR-IOMS具有明确定义的训练策略， 对学习者行为的客观评估和量化结果衡量，可以作为平台 推进运维研究。在这里获得的经验可以用来改进康复的其他领域。

The long-term objective of the research is to use Virtual Reality-based Intelligent Orientation & Mobility Specialists (VR-IOMSs) to teach a large portion of the orientation & mobility (O&M) curriculum to low vision (LV) patients. O&M, the ability to orient oneself and to travel independently, safely and efficiently in any environment, is the foundation of independent living and high quality of life. O&M rehabilitation is the only proven intervention that restores mobility lost to LV. Current O&M rehabilitation is conducted by certified O&M specialists (COMS) in real streets. The shortage and uneven distribution of COMS, the mobility difficulty of LV patients, the long training needed to regain independent travel, the non-reimbursable cost of COMS time and the low income/unemployment status of the LV population make this valuable service inaccessible and unaffordable to many who need it the most. A VR-IOMS, a computer program, combines virtual reality and intelligent tutoring technologies. When VR-IOMS courses are delivered through the internet, LV patients can receive quality O&M training in safe virtual environments at their convenient location and time with little cost. This new intervention can thus reduce the accessibility and affordability barriers to O&M rehabilitation. The proposed research is built on our previous study of teaching O&M skills in virtual streets. It is designed to test the hypothesis that there is no difference in real street O&M performance between LV patients who receive O&M training from VR-IOMSs and those who receive training from human COMSs in real streets. Three specific aims will be achieved. 1) Design VR-IOMSs. Three VR-IOMSs for three important O&M tasks, timing to cross a signalized street, timing to cross an uncontrolled street and learning the outdoor numbering system, will be designed. This involves collecting expert knowledge about teaching these tasks through focus group research, defining intelligent course flow and designing course contents in virtual reality. 2) Implement the VR- IOMSs. This involves building virtual reality simulators, developing virtual street scenarios, authoring the intelligent course, programming interfaces between the intelligent O&M specialists and virtual street scenarios. 3) Validate the VR-IOMSs. A randomized training trial will be conducted to compare VR-IOMS and human COMS O&M training. LV subjects will be randomized to learning the three O&M tasks from the VR-IOMSs, from human COMSs and no training. All subjects will be taken to real streets by COMSs before and after training to evaluate their O&M task performance. Pre- and post-training performance changes of the three groups will be compared to quantify relative training effectiveness. If these VR-IOMSs are proven effective, more will be developed and validated in future research. Clinical deployment of these training agents will restore independent travel to more LV patients. The VR-IOMSs, with their explicitly defined training strategies, objective assessments of learner behavior and quantitative outcome measures, can serve as platforms to advance O&M research. Experience gained here can be used to improve other fields of rehabilitation.