Home safety taught in virtual world
Check it out! That's me again, in Second Life exploring a site designed to train healthcare professionals in conducting home safety assessments. I recently toured this Geriatrics Virtual World with Drs. Jorge Ruiz and Allen Andrade of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. The "homes" pictured here are full of hazards for seniors (e.g., bug infestations; stove burner left on; tripping hazards; etc.). When a trainee tours the home, they are able to address the hazards (i.e., turn off the burner; move obstructions; etc.), and their actions can be recorded and fed back for training or assessment purposes. The home safety assessment is one of several research interests of the GVW group--others include interdisciplinary team training; communication skills; patient self-management; and disaster management. To that end, some of their other SL experiments include "text to speech" where avatars play out a scenario of physical activity counseling for a diabetic patient and provide meditation advice. The video below shows an overview of some of their research around avatar animation--have a look!
These projects appear to be a collaborative effort, so please visit Geriatrics Virtual World for further information. Here you'll find additional videos highlighting their work and a teleport link to the Geriatrics Virtual World in Second Life.
