About HAVRES

HAVRES (Hospitalization Assistance in Virtual Reality to Empower and Soothe inpatients) is a VR application for patients that are hospitalized for long periods.

This is my end-of-studies project, made along with 4 other students. It started out from the experience of a former student that had to go through bone marrow transplant, and as such had to live in a sterile chamber for 2 months. The environment of a sterile chamber is invaded with machines, all the walls are white, the ceiling neon projects a cold light other the room, and there is sometimes not even a window to let the patient see the sunlight.

To let inpatients escape from this cold reality, we offered a warmer virtual environment, that depicts a valley bordered with mountains. The patient can, in this environment, plant trees, build structures from wood logs and stones, and paint through either throwing fruits at the floor, or using the fruit like a pen to draw more precisely with the fruit’s juice. The patient can also take care of an animal (for the demonstration, we chose to have a cat) that purrs when pet, follows a ball when the patient throws it. The patient can also use a brush to clean the cat.

All these interactions not only have the purpose of soothing the patient, but also to empower them, as they take control of an environment of their own, without too many external factors, because their days are mostly rythmed by the frequent visits of hospital staff and not much else. That is also why we implemented a day-night cycle, but also the possibility for a patient to set themselves long-term objectives. This is made possible by the fact the environment is auto-saved frequently, so that trees and other resources stay between sessions. Also, trees grow between sessions: a tree planted during the first playthrough will only be a tree shoot, but during the second session, the tree will have grown to be a bigger bush, and finally, during the third playthrough, the tree will have reached it’s full maturity.