“We are Alfred” is a virtual reality program created by Embodied Labs to allow medical students to feel what it is like to be 74. The program allows them to experience both audio and visual programs. This, very much like my own OpticalSim, raises awareness for impairments, except in this case it is degenerative impairments.
“We Are Alfred” uses a virtual reality headset, headphones and a hand-tracking device to immerse users in live-action story from the perspective of the 74-year-old man named Alfred. The story consists of six, seven-minute scenes that span from a spilling wine to waiting in a doctor’s office all as Alfred, who has audio and visual impairments.
This is exactly how I wanted my experience to be, but with more common visual impairments such as cateracts and lazy eye.
“We wanted something that was as accurate to the experience of somebody discovering that they have an impairment, their family confronting them about it and then them having to go act upon that discovery,”
Another story within the simulation called “Taking the Cognitive Test” deals with the disconnect that sometimes occurs between a young doctor and an elderly patient. In this scene, Alfred (and the viewer) struggles with the test, not because there’s something wrong with Alfred’s cognitive abilities, but because he can’t really hear what the doctor is asking him to do.
“I don’t remember what I’m supposed to do,” said one user after this scene in the below video. “I couldn’t really hear and I couldn’t see the test when he was describing it, so now I don’t really remember what I’m supposed to do.” If the user has to ask what they need to do, you can tell that the simulation is working.
The team at Embodied Labs decided to create “We Are Alfred” due to the increase in population over the age of 64. According to the Administration for Community Living, in 2014, the percentage of Americans 65 and older accounted for about 15 percent of the population. By 2040, they estimate that that number will jump to about 25 percent.
The average medical student, on the other hand, is 24 years old.
Embodied Labs wants to simply bridge that gap.
“The project is focusing on comfort,” Eric Swirsky, a faculty adviser on the project and clinical assistant professor of biomedical and health information sciences told UIC. “It’s not curing, it’s not curative, it’s not even treatment-oriented. It’s about comforting and understanding where the patient is so that you can be with him.”
Inspiration for my Project
I have found that many of those with Lazy Eye are children, and this is usually fixed easily by wearing a patch. I think I am going to move more towards creating my project around cataracts, and the build up of it over weeks. I really like the first person idea especially with the hand sensors which make you feel even more a part of the virtual environment and will implement it in my own world.
I really like this idea and that people were struggling with some of the tasks as this is the reaction I wanted with my own work. I feel that people remember things better and will talk more about an experience rather than another form such as a leaflet.
https://www.vrfocus.com/tag/we-are-alfred/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/we-are-alfred-embodied-labs-carrie-shaw-virtual-reality-medical-students-elderly-geriatric-care_us_57505bbce4b0c3752dccbeaa