HoloLens 2 and Virtual Reality as Methods for Managing Phobias
Dominik Janecky, Erik Kučera, Oto Haffner · 2022
Almost everyone experiences some form of phobia an overwhelming fear and inappropriate response to particular stimuli - directly or indirectly at some point in their existence. Even those without phobias themselves probably know someone who is affected by them in their daily lives. This article presents a cutting-edge educational tool to control phobia-related dread. Teaching a phobia sufferer to recognize and manage his fear is a crucial part of the therapy process. Utilizing virtual reality software, the client may be exposed to a variety of terrifying events connected to his or her phobia and watch how they affect him or her. This enables a more precise assessment of the severity of the phobia and, as a result, an improvement in patient coaching to control the fear. Another method of treating phobias is augmented/mixed reality. We chose to work with the Microsoft HoloLens 2. Using these glasses, images, videos and 3D models can be displayed and rendered into the participant’s real environment. Which means that the participant can be in contact with their phobia directly in an environment they are familiar with (e.g. their apartment, room, etc). With arachnophobia, spiders can appear all over the floor and walls of his room which would be projected directly in the glasses he would be wearing on his head.