Exploring an Extended Reality Floatation Tank Experience to Reduce the Fear of Being in Water

Maria F. Montoya; Hannah Qiao; Prasanth Sasikumar; Don Samitha Elvitigala; Sarah Jane Pell; Suranga Nanayakkara; Florian 'Floyd' Mueller

doi:10.1145/3613904.3642285

Exploring an Extended Reality Floatation Tank Experience to Reduce the Fear of Being in Water

Maria F. Montoya, Hannah Qiao, Prasanth Sasikumar, Don Samitha Elvitigala, Sarah Jane Pell, Suranga Nanayakkara, Florian 'Floyd' Mueller

Department of Human Centred Computing

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Paper › Research › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

People with a fear of being in water rarely engage in water activities and hence miss out on the associated health benefits. Prior research suggested virtual exposure to treat fears. However, when it comes to a fear of being in water, virtual water might not capture water's immersive qualities, while real water can pose safety risks. We propose extended reality to combine both advantages: We conducted a study (N=12) where participants with a fear of being in water interacted with playful water-inspired virtual reality worlds while floating inside a floatation tank. Our findings, supported quantitatively by heart rate variability and qualitatively by interviews, suggest that playful extended reality could mitigate fear responses in an entertaining way. We also present insights for the design of future systems that aim to help people with a fear of being in water and other phobias by using the best of the virtual and physical worlds.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sytems
Editors	Max L. Wilson, Phoebe Toups Dugas, Irina Shklovski
Place of Publication	New York NY USA
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Number of pages	17
ISBN (Electronic)	9798400703300
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642285
Publication status	Published - 2024
Event	International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2024: Surfing the World - Hybrid, Honolulu, United States of America Duration: 11 May 2024 → 16 May 2024 https://chi2024.acm.org/ https://dl.acm.org/doi/proceedings/10.1145/3613904 (proceedings) https://dl.acm.org/doi/proceedings/10.1145/3613905 (Extended Abstracts)

Conference

Conference	International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2024
Abbreviated title	CHI 2024
Country/Territory	United States of America
City	Hybrid, Honolulu
Period	11/05/24 → 16/05/24
Internet address	https://chi2024.acm.org/ https://dl.acm.org/doi/proceedings/10.1145/3613904 (proceedings) https://dl.acm.org/doi/proceedings/10.1145/3613905 (Extended Abstracts)

Keywords

exposure therapy
extended reality
fear of being in water
floatation tank
flotation pod
phobia
virtual reality
water

Access to Document

10.1145/3613904.3642285

Cite this

Montoya, M. F., Qiao, H., Sasikumar, P., Elvitigala, D. S., Pell, S. J., Nanayakkara, S., & Mueller, F. F. (2024). Exploring an Extended Reality Floatation Tank Experience to Reduce the Fear of Being in Water. In M. L. Wilson, P. Toups Dugas, & I. Shklovski (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sytems Article 1004 Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). https://doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642285

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title = "Exploring an Extended Reality Floatation Tank Experience to Reduce the Fear of Being in Water",

abstract = "People with a fear of being in water rarely engage in water activities and hence miss out on the associated health benefits. Prior research suggested virtual exposure to treat fears. However, when it comes to a fear of being in water, virtual water might not capture water's immersive qualities, while real water can pose safety risks. We propose extended reality to combine both advantages: We conducted a study (N=12) where participants with a fear of being in water interacted with playful water-inspired virtual reality worlds while floating inside a floatation tank. Our findings, supported quantitatively by heart rate variability and qualitatively by interviews, suggest that playful extended reality could mitigate fear responses in an entertaining way. We also present insights for the design of future systems that aim to help people with a fear of being in water and other phobias by using the best of the virtual and physical worlds.",

keywords = "exposure therapy, extended reality, fear of being in water, floatation tank, flotation pod, phobia, virtual reality, water",

author = "Montoya, {Maria F.} and Hannah Qiao and Prasanth Sasikumar and Elvitigala, {Don Samitha} and Pell, {Sarah Jane} and Suranga Nanayakkara and Mueller, {Florian 'Floyd'}",

note = "Funding Information: The authors would like to thank the director and staff of the floatation center Palm Ave Float Club in Singapore for allowing us to conduct our study in their facilities and for collaborating with us. Moreover, we would like to thank the director of the floatation center Water Temple in Melbourne for allowing us to record research activities at their facilities. Additionally, we would like to thank all the participants who volunteered to take part in the study presented in this work. Florian 'Floyd' Mueller thanks the Australian Research Council, especially DP190102068, DP200102612 and, with Sara Jane Pell, they thank LP210200656. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2024 Copyright held by the owner/author(s); International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2024 : Surfing the World, CHI 2024 ; Conference date: 11-05-2024 Through 16-05-2024",

year = "2024",

doi = "10.1145/3613904.3642285",

language = "English",

editor = "{L. Wilson}, Max and {Toups Dugas}, Phoebe and Irina Shklovski",

booktitle = "Proceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sytems",

publisher = "Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)",

address = "United States of America",

url = "https://chi2024.acm.org/, https://dl.acm.org/doi/proceedings/10.1145/3613904, https://dl.acm.org/doi/proceedings/10.1145/3613905",

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Montoya, MF, Qiao, H, Sasikumar, P, Elvitigala, DS, Pell, SJ, Nanayakkara, S & Mueller, FF 2024, Exploring an Extended Reality Floatation Tank Experience to Reduce the Fear of Being in Water. in M L. Wilson, P Toups Dugas & I Shklovski (eds), Proceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sytems., 1004, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), New York NY USA, International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2024, Hybrid, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States of America, 11/05/24. https://doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642285

Exploring an Extended Reality Floatation Tank Experience to Reduce the Fear of Being in Water. / Montoya, Maria F.; Qiao, Hannah; Sasikumar, Prasanth et al.
Proceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sytems. ed. / Max L. Wilson; Phoebe Toups Dugas; Irina Shklovski. New York NY USA: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), 2024. 1004.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Paper › Research › peer-review

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AU - Montoya, Maria F.

AU - Qiao, Hannah

AU - Sasikumar, Prasanth

AU - Elvitigala, Don Samitha

AU - Pell, Sarah Jane

AU - Nanayakkara, Suranga

AU - Mueller, Florian 'Floyd'

N1 - Funding Information: The authors would like to thank the director and staff of the floatation center Palm Ave Float Club in Singapore for allowing us to conduct our study in their facilities and for collaborating with us. Moreover, we would like to thank the director of the floatation center Water Temple in Melbourne for allowing us to record research activities at their facilities. Additionally, we would like to thank all the participants who volunteered to take part in the study presented in this work. Florian 'Floyd' Mueller thanks the Australian Research Council, especially DP190102068, DP200102612 and, with Sara Jane Pell, they thank LP210200656. Publisher Copyright: © 2024 Copyright held by the owner/author(s)

PY - 2024

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N2 - People with a fear of being in water rarely engage in water activities and hence miss out on the associated health benefits. Prior research suggested virtual exposure to treat fears. However, when it comes to a fear of being in water, virtual water might not capture water's immersive qualities, while real water can pose safety risks. We propose extended reality to combine both advantages: We conducted a study (N=12) where participants with a fear of being in water interacted with playful water-inspired virtual reality worlds while floating inside a floatation tank. Our findings, supported quantitatively by heart rate variability and qualitatively by interviews, suggest that playful extended reality could mitigate fear responses in an entertaining way. We also present insights for the design of future systems that aim to help people with a fear of being in water and other phobias by using the best of the virtual and physical worlds.

AB - People with a fear of being in water rarely engage in water activities and hence miss out on the associated health benefits. Prior research suggested virtual exposure to treat fears. However, when it comes to a fear of being in water, virtual water might not capture water's immersive qualities, while real water can pose safety risks. We propose extended reality to combine both advantages: We conducted a study (N=12) where participants with a fear of being in water interacted with playful water-inspired virtual reality worlds while floating inside a floatation tank. Our findings, supported quantitatively by heart rate variability and qualitatively by interviews, suggest that playful extended reality could mitigate fear responses in an entertaining way. We also present insights for the design of future systems that aim to help people with a fear of being in water and other phobias by using the best of the virtual and physical worlds.

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Montoya MF, Qiao H, Sasikumar P, Elvitigala DS, Pell SJ, Nanayakkara S et al. Exploring an Extended Reality Floatation Tank Experience to Reduce the Fear of Being in Water. In L. Wilson M, Toups Dugas P, Shklovski I, editors, Proceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sytems. New York NY USA: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). 2024. 1004 doi: 10.1145/3613904.3642285

Exploring an Extended Reality Floatation Tank Experience to Reduce the Fear of Being in Water

Abstract

Conference

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Advancing Australia’s hospitality industry through interactive food

Designing digital aquatic play to foster Australians' engagement with water

Cite this

Exploring an Extended Reality Floatation Tank Experience to Reduce the Fear of Being in Water

Abstract

Conference

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Projects

Advancing Australia’s hospitality industry through interactive food

Designing digital aquatic play to foster Australians' engagement with water

Cite this