The original article was written by David Nicholls and posted at https://www.northampton.ac.uk/research-blogs/dolphin-experience-vr/

Dr Mu Mu, Andy Debus, and David Nicholls have been working on a prototype for VR Therapies based in Northampton to help relieve anxieties in patients. “The NHS is under immense pressure, and it can be hard for patients to get treatment. We saw this as an opportunity to deliver digital health innovation to improve the delivery and access to life-changing treatment. Partnering with health institutions and local businesses such as VR Therapies, we’re hoping this will help improve the availability of treatment options,” said Dr. Mu Mu regarding the project. Andy Debus, a senior lecturer in games at the University of Northampton, created the environment using coral and reef assets developed by Finley Powell, a games art student here at the university.

“Having been a game developer in the industry for almost 30 years, it’s great to use my skills in a new direction on a project that will have a positive influence on people’s mental well-being” Andy said.

Continuing from an initial project by the game’s team at Northampton several years ago, we are recreating this using new technologies that have advanced significantly in recent years. The original project was also created in collaboration with VR Therapies. With this interaction, we plan to add more interactive elements for a more fulfilling experience.

We had a great opportunity to not just help others with anxieties with the implementation, but we also used it as an opening to hire the Games Art students to help create some assets. This gives them a real live project brief to work on and gives them experience in the industry to help them get their first commercial roles once they graduate.

Finley said: “Being able to use the skills that I have learnt in a professional setting is invaluable for learning practices and readying myself for the industry. It is great to work alongside professional developers in a real game studio environment.”

Finley worked on creating models of coral and sea creatures such as dolphins, turtles, and crabs.

David’s involvement has been developing the interactions and AI technologies with Dr. Raghad Zenki. Using the Unity game engine, we have added 3D audio and AI pathing for the sea creatures to help immersion. Dolphins and other larger sea creatures work on a track system with random variation.

Meanwhile, smaller fish use AI to simulate schools of fish swimming in a group. We are now working on using Oculus hand tracking to add gestures to interact with the sea creatures. The calming environment combined with the sedate movement of the sea creature and soothing audio will help relieve stress and relax users. Whilst we continue development on this app, we are searching for new partners in the community to work with on new projects for use in the mental health field.