University of São Paulo: Group proposes use of the metaverse in the rehabilitation of people with disabilities
The metaverse is a virtual world that tries to replicate reality through digital devices. When entering the metaverse, it is possible to identify buildings, rooms, furniture, find other people, through their avatars, and talk to them in a similar way as if they were in the real world, which is characterized, for example, with the volume of the voice increasing or decreasing according to the distance between the avatars.
A group from the School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities (EACH) at USP, coordinated by the professor of the Physical Education and Health course Carlos Monteiro, is studying how the metaverse can help in the rehabilitation of people with disabilities. One of the published studies showed that, in people with cerebral palsy, the application of tasks in virtual reality through telerehabilitation helped with engagement, improved performance and was an interesting option to encourage the practice of physical activity, including during the pandemic.
Virtual reality and cerebral palsy
The study on the telerehabilitation of people with cerebral palsy was carried out between March and June 2020 and involved the participation of 44 people. The work was carried out during the quarantine period of the covid-19 pandemic, which prevented traditional therapy from being carried out.
With a researcher guiding the activities remotely and with the help of a person in charge, the participants carried out the practices developed, one of which was a game in which the patients needed to “catch” colored balls that fell on the computer display, which was performed by the movements of the participants, detected by the machine’s camera. People with cerebral palsy have motor disorders associated with aspects such as changes in sensation, learning and communication, so the game sought to improve motor performance.
During the game, the participants’ perception of effort, that is, people’s tiredness, was evaluated. The scale is based on the sensations felt during exercise, such as muscle fatigue and increased heart and breathing rates. Motor performance, measured by the precision of movements and the number of right and wrong answers, as well as the motivation and satisfaction of the participants, were also analyzed.
The improvement in game performance was not constant. Despite this, the reception of the games by the patients was positive, having been considered fun by the participants, who were interested in continuing to use the game in their therapies.
“People like it more, they are more motivated to do a rehabilitation in a virtual environment”, comments Monteiro about the advantage of this rehabilitation format in relation to others.
Non-immersive Metaverse
The differential of the research carried out by Professor Monteiro’s study group is that it does not use the immersive metaverse, that is, the one that uses virtual reality glasses. With a computer or cell phone and a good internet connection, it is possible to perform several tasks in the metaverse. This makes it easier for people to access this form of rehabilitation and saves them from having to spend money on expensive virtual glasses or travel to laboratories where advanced equipment is available. With the use of the non-immersive metaverse, the therapist can also attend to more than one patient at a time and people from different states now have access to this treatment.
Despite these advantages, Monteiro points out that the metaverse is a complement to traditional recovery methods, not a replacement. “We realized that when tasks in the virtual environment are more difficult than in real life, this makes it easier to carry out activities in real life”, says Monteiro about one of the positive points of this complementarity.
He points out as challenges for the widespread use of investors to believe in the use of the metaverse for health purposes, and the difficulty of some people to adapt to digital platforms. For him, however, the use of the metaverse in education and health can be postponed, but it is inevitable.
The group is also studying the use of this technology in other groups, for example, in people within the autistic spectrum and people with Down syndrome.
Monteiro says that the group carried out the first race in the metaverse for people with disabilities: in the research, people within the autistic spectrum, using computer keyboard commands to direct their avatars, ran along a predetermined path on an island in the metaverse. Thus, it was possible to identify that learning occurred in controlling the movements of avatars. People on the autistic spectrum not only learned to use the platform, but also discovered features that increased running speed and performance on their own.
The group’s next project is the use of avatars that move at the same time as people. “The technology will allow the recognition of the maximum capacity and performance of each person. Through this, the avatar will help to balance difficulties, allowing equal tasks for all”, says Monteiro.