Immersive Virtual Tasks With Motor and Cognitive Components: A Feasibility Study With Young and Older Adults

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Virtual Reality Technology
• Human Factors Engineering

Background:

• Virtual reality (VR) offers immersive environments for various applications, including rehabilitation and training.
• Assessing the feasibility, safety, and user experience of novel virtual tasks is crucial for widespread adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility, safety, and acceptability of immersive virtual reality tasks.
• To compare task completion rates, cybersickness symptoms, and user motivation between young and older adults.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 11 young and 10 older adults to perform three virtual reaching tasks while navigating a virtual path.
• Employed Mann-Whitney U, chi-square, and analysis of variance tests for statistical comparisons between groups.
• Collected data on task completion, cybersickness symptoms, motivation, and willingness to recommend tasks.

Main Results:

• Young adults demonstrated higher task completion rates (81.8%) compared to older adults (20%) (p = .005).
• Most participants experienced mild cybersickness, which resolved post-interaction, with no significant group differences in symptom severity.
• Older adults reported significantly higher motivation (p = .015) and likelihood to recommend tasks (p = .034).

Conclusions:

• Immersive virtual tasks are feasible, particularly for younger individuals, but require attention to cybersickness management.
• Despite lower completion rates, older adults found the tasks engaging and expressed positive feedback regarding motivation and recommendation.
• Virtual reality tasks show potential for diverse age groups, with older adults indicating strong acceptance and motivation.