Virtual reality is more than just a fun way to play your favorite video game. It can also provide a first-person look into human experiences. That’s one of the goals of the University of Georgia’s Games and Virtual Environments Lab.
Led by Associate Professor Sun Joo “Grace” Ahn, the lab is operated through the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Ahn and her team of researchers and programmers have developed a variety of augmented reality experiences that immerse participants in real-world scenarios like natural disasters or unique health challenges.
In the video above, the viewer experiences potential irritants in the air and learns how to properly clean to make it safe for an asthmatic person. Ahn’s lab is examining how people interact with the virtual spaces, whether those interactions prove beneficial in the real world and how that might inform future media.
