Project Summary: The Immersive Glider project explores the use of a custom-built paragliding simulator to provide low-impact exercise for individuals experiencing frailty. The simulator uses a harness and pulley system to allow users to simulate the movements of paragliding, offering a form of resistance-based exercise. The project integrates a virtual environment to enhance the experience and promote hand-eye coordination.

Workshops and Findings: 

• Workshop 1: Participants gave feedback on the glider's accessibility and comfort, raising concerns about wheelchair access and arm positioning. They suggested nature or city environments for the virtual experience and requested more colour in the level design. 

• Workshop 2: Accessibility issues were highlighted again, with suggestions for a lower hand position and the inclusion of a hoist for frail patients. Participants wanted more realistic environments with interactive elements like animals and real-world locations. The potential for social interaction among nursing home residents was also noted. 

• Workshop 3: Concerns were raised about the glider's design and its challenges for frail patients, with feedback provided on improving the virtual environment. 

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Significance: The project seeks to offer a novel approach to frailty prevention by combining physical exercise with an engaging, immersive experience. The co-creation process, involving patients and healthcare experts, ensures the glider's design meets the needs of its users.

The participants discussed the use of the Glider and the design of the environment. The Glider’s harness was not used at this stage, instead we used a common stool. Feedback from participants highlighted accessibility issues for wheelchair. Potential issue is the position of the arms (raised above the head) participants expressed concern about maintaining that position for a long duration.  

Environment design: explore a virtual environment in nature, more colour to the level.  

The participants observed the interaction and expressed their opinions regarding the use of the Glider and the design of the environment. Accessibility to the Glider was raised as an issue again, with one participant suggesting a lower position, inclusion of a hoist for easy access and use the glider as a social element. For the design of the environment, the participants suggested that it needs to be more realistic, it needs to have animals and birds that engage with the user, to replicate some real-world locations.  

The participants expressed their concern regarding the design of the glider as it could present a challenge for the frailty patients. They also provided feedback and suggestion on how to improve the design of the virtual environment.  

• Custom build glider controls, using a rotary encoder to translate the movement in the real world to the virtual character. 

• Backend pipeline for the connection and integration of a rotary encoder to a Raspberry Pi Pico and the serial port with data accessed directly in Unreal game engine. 

• Custom build grey-boxing digital environment that enables participants to explore and understand how the user controls the virtual character through the glider controls. The level has been build specifically to allow the users to practice their skills from gentle steering to sharp quick turns. 

• Custom build procedurally generated level that enables participants to explore a virtual immersive environment using visuals and 3D placed audio.   

• Submitted an abstract to the 5th International Congress on Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair in Maastricht