Virtual Reality Applications in Autism Research

by Zhiwei Yu, IIRL, RIT

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social communication, repetitive behaviors, and restricted interests (Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 2013). The prevalence of ASD has increased in recent years, with current estimates indicating that approximately 1 in 36 children (1/54 in 2016, 1/44 in 2018) in the United States are diagnosed with ASD (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). The assessment of ASD can be challenging, as it requires a comprehensive evaluation of the individual's social communication and interaction skills, as well as their behavior and sensory processing. Various traditional treatments (such as applied behavior analysis and cognitive behavioral therapy) have been developed to help individuals with ASD to improve their social skills and manage their symptoms. Recent research has also demonstrated that Virtual Reality (VR) technology may be promising in both assessments and treatments for individuals with autism, offering unique benefits that traditional methods may not provide.

VR is a computer-generated environment that can simulate real-world experiences. When compared with humanadministrated scenarios, its benefits include but not limit to: 1) provide high controllability, robustness, and precision when develop interactive environments; 2) offer less threatening but comfortable environments to have repetitive role-play practices; 3) allow researchers to collect data in a more objective, precise and standardized manner. Given these advantages, VR has boosted many explorations in the autism research. How VR technology has emerged as a promising tool to provide the assessments and treatments for individuals with autism are reviewed in this article.

Assessments

The assessment of social communication and interaction skills is a key component of the diagnostic process for ASD. VR technology provides researchers with a controlled environment to simulate social interactions and situations, allowing for the assessment of social communication and interaction abilities. For example, traditional assessments of ASD rely on clinician-administrated observations and interview-based questionnaires, which can be subjective and vary in their reliability. Social interactions can be unpredictable and overwhelming for individuals with ASD, making it difficult to accurately assess their social communication and interaction abilities in real-world situations. VR technology can overcome these limitations and enhance the diagnostic process by providing a standardized and high controllable environment for assessments. Strickland et al. (2017) utilized a VR-based job interview simulation in conjunction with a comprehensive job skills assessment to estimate employment readiness in individuals with ASD. The study found that the VR-based job interview simulation improved the accuracy and reliability of the assessment for social communication and interaction skills. Results confirmed significant improvements in verbal content skills for individuals with ASD who completed the VR-based employmenttraining program when compared with those did not. Koirala et al. (2021) designed a novel VR-based sensory assessment system to explore how children with ASD were different from their typically developing (TD) peers in terms of visual and tactile sensory processing. This study required participants to play a VR game by painting 2D and 3D maze-like paths with a 3D haptic robot. Fig. 1 shows two game scenes with the 2D (a) and 3D (b) settings, respectively. Results indicated that the system could highlight significant visual and sensory differences between the ASD and TD groups and capture more significant differences when compared to the traditional questionnairebased results.

Treatments

The applications of VR technology in the treatment of ASD have also shown promising results. VR technology provides individuals with ASD with a less threatening, less socially challenging, more controllable and comfortable environment to have role-play practices for social communication and interaction skills. One of the ways to use VR for autism treatments is through social skills training/intervention. Children with autism often have difficulty with social interactions, and VR can create a safe and controlled environment in which they can practice social skills. For example, a therapist can use VR to simulate social situations such as a birthday party or a school classroom, where the child can practice eye contact, conversation skills, and other social behaviors. Ke et al. (2022) proposed VR-enabled environments to provide an immersive and play- and designed-oriented training of multi social skills (such as interpersonal negotiation and self-identity expression) for individuals with ASD. Results demonstrated individuals with ASD showed improvements in those social skills.

In addition, VR plays significant roles in the sensory integration therapy for individuals with autism. For example, children with autism often have sensory processing issues, which can make it difficult for them to process and respond to stimuli in their environment. VR can be applied to create an environment where children can gradually be exposed to different sensory stimuli, such as visual, auditory, and tactile events, in a way that is safe and controllable for them. Furthermore, VR can be employed to reduce anxiety and stress in children with autism. Children with autism may experience heightened anxiety and stress levels in response to new or unfamiliar situations, and VR can be used to create calming and relaxing environments that can help reduce anxiety levels. Adjorlu et al. (2019) explored the feasibility of VR-based singing environment where virtual audiences would provide feedbacks to help individuals with ASD to reduce social anxiety. Results disclosed that individuals with ASD were able to sing in front of virtual audiences without a major level of social anxiety.

Challenges

While VR technology has shown promise in the assessments and treatments of ASD, there are also several challenges that need to be addressed in the near future. One of the main challenges is the cost of VR technology. VR equipment and software can be expensive, making it inaccessible for many individuals with ASD and their families. Additionally, VR technology requires specialized training to be used effectively, which can limit its widespread adoption in clinical settings. Another challenge is to further validate effectiveness of VR technology in autism research. While preliminary studies have shown promising results, more research is needed to determine the longterm effectiveness of VR technology in the assessments and treatments for ASD. Furthermore, there is an urgent need for larger sample sizes in studies to evaluate the effectiveness.

Conclusions

In conclusion, VR technology has shown successes in simulating social interactions and situations with a highly controllable environment to provide assessments (e.g., sensory processing) and treatments (e.g., practices of social interactional skills) for individuals with ASD. Even though, there are challenges in using VR technology in autism research. The long-term effectiveness of VR technology needs to be further verified. Overall, VR technology has the potential to improve the lives of individuals with ASD by providing safe and effective tools for assessments and treatments. q

Zhiwei Yu, a Ph.D. candidate from the Intelligent Interaction Research Lab (IIRL) at the Rochester Institute of Technology, supervised by Dr. Zhi Zheng. With a research focus on Human Computer Interaction (HCI), Behavioral and mental healthcare.

VEX Robotics team places in top 10 at international competition

Collegiate team recognized for seasonal wins and team awards for outstanding robotics program

RIT’s VEX Robotics team placed 10th overall among 96 collegiate teams in the recent VEX Robotics World Championships in Dallas. Teams competing in the championship came from U.S. universities from Alaska, Oregon, and California as well as international teams from Columbia, Mexico, China, Puerto Rico, and Australia.

Closing a strong 2023 season, the team was also recognized for excellence in technical designs and the overall quality of its program.

VEX Robotics at RIT has grown significantly since it began in 2017.

“Our early years, it was about building the team, understanding how we were going to run a club. We spent time recruiting people with the different disciplines needed, so we have some really talented individuals,” said Stefany Ferguson, team president and a fifth-year electrical engineering major from Manchester, Conn.

Ferguson has been involved with VEX since high school, and she joined the RIT team in her first year. Placing in the top 10 this year of the championship was a milestone that Ferguson helped make happen.

VEX Robotics has several categories of competitions with K-12 competitors as well as college teams. Similar to FIRST Robotics, the program is intended to spur interest in STEM disciplines, emphasize teamwork, and encourage students to apply what they learn in classrooms to real-world projects, such as building robotic systems.

Middle and high school teams start with a kit of parts and mentors to help them build robots. At the collegiate level, teams spend the academic year designing robots, often building different parts and electronic systems in labs or machine shops. For some of the team members, the part designs are new skills being learned.

“It’s a great thing for a college student to know. We did a lot of 3D printing for just about every part of the robot—the gears, support towers—we also got into making silicon molds for all the wheels that we used,” said Ferguson, who is completing the bachelor ’s/master’s dual-degree program in electrical engineering in RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering. q

Rochester Institute of Technology takes its place on international stage at G7 to advance semiconductor development

Micron launches U.S.-Japan university partnership to increase research, educational opportunities and the pipeline of graduates in computer chip manufacturing

Rochester Institute of Technology is one of six U.S. universities named as part of an international partnership to improve competitiveness in computer chip design, development, and manufacturing.

Micron Corp. and the National Science Foundation announced the partnership—the U.S.-Japan University Partnership for Workforce Advancement and Research & Development in Semiconductors for the Future (UPWARDS)— and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the 2023 G7 Summit in Japan

Aimed at expanding engineering education and research to underrepresented students and faculty, the partnership will pair universities for shared learning across the two countries. Other participating universities are Hiroshima University, Kyushu University, Nagoya University, Tohoku University, and Tokyo Institute of Technology, from Japan; and RIT, Boise State University, Purdue University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Washington, and Virginia Tech, from the U.S.

With an established microelectronic engineering degree program, one of the first in the country, RIT currently has more than 1,500 alumni working in the semiconductor field. The specialized program blends the theoretical knowledge and hands-on training required to design and build chips. Through the UPWARDS partnership, RIT will participate in curriculum development, student and faculty exchanges, research projects, and Micron’s Women in Semiconductors (WiSe) program.

RIT’s cleanroom, located in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering, is undergoing updates this summer in recognition of the demand for increased research and teaching related to computer chip design, development, and manufacturing. Credit: Elizabeth Lamark/RIT

“As a leading producer of STEM graduates, Rochester Institute of Technology recognizes the crucial role that semiconductors and related technologies play in driving innovation and economic growth, said RIT President David Munson. “More importantly, we are committed to fostering diversity and removing educational barriers. We look forward to partnering with our academic colleagues in Japan and in the United States, as well as Micron, through the UPWARDS for the Future initiative to advance semiconductor research and workforce development.”

The university’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering (KGCOE), the College of Engineering Technology (CET), and RIT Certified will be key contributors to the UPWARDS for the Future partnership:

• Both colleges are teaching and training future and current engineers for jobs in the semiconductor industry—ranging from research and design to semiconductor manufacturing and electronic packaging.

• Faculty and graduate students enrolled in RIT’s doctoral programs in Microsystems Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering will collaborate on cutting-edge research as part of the UPWARDS partnerships. Current research projects range from developing new materials and processes to designing and building new devices for memory, power, energy, and security applications.

• RIT’s cleanroom, the Semiconductor and Microsystems Fabrication Lab, is undergoing an expansion this summer. The university acquired state and national funding, including $2 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce Omnibus Bill, to update and expand the lab.

• Both colleges offer multiple workforce development programs at the university and at corporate-partner sites to help build the skilled workforce needed by the semiconductor and electronic packaging industry. KGCOE offers a weeklong short course that covers the full range of processes used to produce computer chips. CET is involved in electronics

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