A Serious game with virtual reality for travel training with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by impairments in social interaction and repetitive patterns of behaviour which can lead to de cits in adaptive behaviour. This project involves the creation of a serious game that prepares individuals with ASD to use buses as a mean of transportation. The aim is to use the game as a safe environment where the players become familiar with the process of taking a bus. By adding virtual reality support, the feeling of presence in the scene is increased and the experience becomes more realistic, thus increasing its potential as a learning tool. More speci cally, the game consists of placing the player in a three-dimensional city and setting a task which involves taking a bus to reach a speci c destination. This includes activities such as planning a route, waiting for the right bus, choosing a place to sit and deciding when to press the STOP button to leave. In order to measure the player's performance, two di erent methods were used: a score system which focuses on the player's actions, and a biofeedback system based on Electrodermal Activity (EDA), which measures the anxiety level of the player throughout the task. With these systems, it is possible to analyse the impact of practice on both task performance and anxiety reduction. The game was developed using the Unity game engine and used the Oculus Rift as virtual reality headset. Following the development of the application, a validation phase took place in which its rehabilitation potential was evaluated throughout three therapy sessions. The results obtained revealed a major reduction in anxiety experienced when exposed to bus environments, statistically signi cant improvements in the knowledge of the bus process and norms, and a high success rate of their application within the game. In conclusion, the results of this project were useful in understanding how games and virtual reality can help individuals with ASD become more independent, speci cally regarding to the task of taking the bus.