Desarrollo de una aplicación de pc para tratar la fobia a las alturas (acrofobia), mediante el uso del dispositivo Oculus Rift.

Abstract

The aim of the degree work was to develop a PC application to treat height phobia (Acrophobia), by using the OCULUS RIFT device. The virtual reality application called “Superando las Alturas”, it was created using the XP methodology; tools such as Unity were used to create virtual reality scenarios, which have a classification according to the type of difficulty of the scenarios: basic, medium and advanced. The virtual environments were determined according to the phobia to be treated, for this; high places were used in different scenarios, which were determined by the psychologist in charge of the patient who tested the application. It was analyzed literature on the integration of virtual reality in PCs to treat psychological illnesses. For improvement, the treatment, virtual reality glasses called Oculus Rift were incorporated, which allowed a total immersion in which the user lives a real experience. For obtaining system usability results, a survey was applied to ten users, of which 87% thought that the system is usable. For verifying the use of the application a blood pressure monitor was applied to the patient, indicating that there is an increase in pressure between 130-139 / 85-89 mmHg during exposure. It is concluded that by using the application a favorable reaction is obtained at the end of the session without problems and, most importantly, overcoming his/her fear by forbidding himself/herself to carry out activities that involve being in height. It is recommended the use of virtual reality in psychological treatments in people of all ages since it has been verified that the use of these tools attracts people to experiment with new techniques without the need for a live exposure that is what causes the greatest fear.