Virtual reality approach in treating acrophobia: Simulating height in virtual environment

Abstract

Acrophobia is a scientific term used to describe the fear of height. To some people, this fear is manageable, but to others, the fear could pose danger to their life if it starts to interfere with their day to day activities, The conventional treatment for acrophobia is usually done through exposure therapy. where individuals suffering acrophobia will be gradually exposed (physically) to height. The disadvantage of conventional treatment is that it could put the sufferers in life threatening situation. Therefore, the goal of this study is to investigate whether it is possible to create the presence of height using a simple 3D virtual environment, which later could be used in exposure therapy for acrophobia. The system consists of a multimedia workstation, a Head Mounted Display (HMD) and a virtual scene of a busy city surrounded by tall buildings. The experiment consists of the users being gradually lifted up and down on an open elevator hanging outside one of the buildings. Set of questions being asked to each participant after the experiment, and the results shown that even with simple 3D virtual environment, the simulation of height could be achieved.