SensoryScape: Context-Aware Empathic VR Photography
Kunal Kumar Gupta, Yuewei Zhang, Tamil Selvan Gunasekaran, Prasanth Sasikumar, Nanditha Krishna, Philip Pitts, Conor Russomanno, Mark Billinghurst · 2023
SensoryScape presents a novel approach to context-aware empathic interactions (CAEIxs) using a VR head-mounted display (HMD) integrated with various biosensors. This innovative system addresses the need for personal, emotionally resonant, and empathic digital experiences by dynamically responding to users’ real-time emotional and situational context. SensoryScape harnesses the Galea VR HMD, a device with integrated physiological sensors that track bio-signals such as brain activity, skin responses, muscle movements, and heart rate variability. These real-time biosignals, along with situational context, help estimate the user’s emotional state within its context. The VR environment and empathic companion adapt to these cues, ensuring an optimized experience for the user’s current emotional state. The demonstration of SensoryScape highlights the potential of VR HMDs with integrated physiological sensors for crafting empathic digital experiences. Our research contributes to immersive, adaptive, and user-focused empathic interactions, marking a promising shift in human-computer interaction.