NYU Aging Incubator announced its second Aging Award competition which aims at encouraging teams to design and develop tools or systems that would enhance research, policy or lifestyle for the older population. We applied to the competition with our VR system for balance.
The current VR system we developed for balance training is a VR platform containing scenario-based environments and abstract environments with 3D audios. We used this system to assess subjects’ balance by recording their head movement and pressure shifting when they are standing. Our idea for the competition is to work on the current system, build a walking trail and further build shoe insoles to analyze dynamic pressure variation and head movements during walking.
Surprisingly, falls are the leading cause of fatal injuries in the older population. Many older adults limit their participation in society due to the fear of falling. As a result, they become more vulnerable to falling since they are more isolated, more anxious. Hopefully, our portable and affordable platform can help them to assess or train their stabilization at home.