Wear a breathing mask to increase the virtual reality experience

A mask that controls how much air you can breathe could be used to simulate environments with a restricted air supply in virtual reality.

There have been previous attempts at using the breath to interact with VR, involving devices such as microphones or stretchable chest bands. But they have been prone to misinterpreting movements and can’t accurately record airflow.
The idea of virtual reality (VR) headset that can restrict your breathing may sound like some kind of futuristic torture device.

But it’s become a reality this week, thanks to researchers from Salzburg University.

The bizarre device, called AirRes, features a snorkel-like attachment, which can control how much air you can breathe.
Its developers say it could be used to make VR scenarios with a restricted air supply more realistic – such as the smoky environment of a firefighter.

Alternatively, it could be used for VR games that require you to use your breath, such as inflating a balloon or blowing out candles.

‘The AirRes mask enhances virtual experiences and has the potential to create more immersive scenarios for applications by enforcing the perception of danger or improving situational awareness in training simulations,’ the researchers wrote in their study.

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To develop the device, the researchers used a medical-grade gas flow sensor, attached to a mask with an adjustable air valve.

They tested it on 12 participants as they experienced various scenarios in VR, including inflating a balloon or blowing out candles.

Speaking to New Scientist, Markus Tatzgern, who led the study, explained: ‘[Our system] was precise, it didn’t have any motion artifacts and it allowed us to really measure the inhalation and exhalation of users to create interactive applications that use breathing as input.’

To make the scenarios more realistic, the researchers adjusted how much air the participants could breathe.

For example, during a game that required a participant to inflate a balloon, the researchers could adjust the passage of air as the VR balloon grew bigger.

In another scenario, the researchers put participants in a virtual smoky environment, as if they were a firefighter.

Again, the mask restricted the airflow as the participants got closer to the fire, just as if they were really there.

According to New Scientist, one participant said the exercise helped them to better understand what it was like to be a firefighter.

‘If you can put people into other people’s shoes and make them experience other people’s situations, then you can educate … and increase their empathy,’ Tatzgern said.