Scientific tools.
Software · Virtual Reality · Research
I develop virtual environments and software mainly for experimental research, cognitive psychology and clinical projects.
Most of these tools were created to answer specific research questions, but can also be adapted to other projects or platforms.
ℹ️ Before using
If you would like to obtain any of the software or virtual environments (Unity3D, C#),
or simply learn more about them, please feel free to contact me. Depending on your project
— for example, if you are a student or if the project has a social interest — I can help
you modify an environment or develop it for another platform such as mobile, Mac or Linux.
None of these tools collect data externally. It is the user's responsibility to ensure that all human data is protected and collected ethically. All software is licensed under CC-BY-SA.
None of these tools collect data externally. It is the user's responsibility to ensure that all human data is protected and collected ethically. All software is licensed under CC-BY-SA.
Space Shooter
Virtual Reality · Experimental Environment
- The virtual environment used in the Frontiers in Virtual Reality paper (10.3389/frvir.2023.1307925) and in the Virtual Reality paper (10.1007/s10055-024-00993-2).
- A 13.5-minute virtual immersion into a Space Shooter, using a tracked controller turned into a pistol. The train moves at 0.5 m/s, producing a very slow linear visual flow which can be modified to induce cybersickness.
- Five possible conditions: normal, easy, hard, flexible and anxiogenic. Difficulty influences enemy health points and firing rate. In flexible mode, the difficulty adapts to player performance.
- An automatic tutorial teaches the participant how to play and explains the objective: protect the train by shooting enemies and their projectiles.
- Recorded variables include the number of projectiles hitting the train, participant code, number of shots fired, number of shots landed, projectiles neutralized, average difficulty and head tracking at 15 Hz. Data are exported to CSV.
- Music by Electro-Static Lobster.
Virtual Rod and Frame Test
Virtual Reality · Perception
- The virtual environment used in the Frontiers in Virtual Reality paper.
- A standard HMD-supported rod and frame test in virtual reality, originally developed by Witkin et al. in 1948 to assess field dependence.
- Sixteen trials with systematic counterbalancing of rod and frame rotation: −27°/+18°, −27°/−18°, +27°/−18°, +27°/+18° ×2.
- Participants enter their code before beginning. Instructions are presented in French using audio and images, but can easily be modified or removed.
- Data are automatically exported to CSV with date and time.
Starwalker
Virtual Reality · Rehabilitation · Children
- Starwalker is a research and clinical virtual reality video game platform for children with kinesiophobia.
- Virtual reality is a promising tool for motor rehabilitation and has also been studied for its analgesic effects. Its potential lies partly in the sense of presence and in the strong phenomenological experience it provides.
- Starwalker combines virtual reality, playful interaction and lower-limb rehabilitation. It also explores the potential role of the sense of embodiment: the sensation of owning, being and controlling a body.
- Participants interact with the virtual environment using their feet through a 3DRudder, although the platform can also be played using a standard hand controller.
- Mini-games include catching or avoiding objects, shooting aliens, bowling and playing pool against the computer.
- The project was developed for the Centre d'Évaluation et de Traitement de la Douleur at Clémenceau Hospital. The equipment was financed by a Pièces Jaunes project.
- Starwalker is also a playable game for all children.
Virtual Wisconsin Card Sorting Test
Virtual Reality · Neuropsychology
- The virtual environment used in the Virtual Reality paper (10.1007/s10055-022-00698-4).
- An HMD-supported virtual environment designed to evaluate executive functions. It was used during my PhD thesis to study the impact of sense of presence, cybersickness and other human factors on performance in virtual reality.
- A traditional Wisconsin Card Sorting Test implemented in virtual reality and validated by a neuropsychologist.
- A short automatic tutorial teaches the participant how to use the environment and complete the test.
Spatial Cognition Evaluation
Virtual Reality · Spatial Cognition
- An HMD-supported virtual environment used during my PhD thesis to investigate the impact of sense of presence and cybersickness on performance in virtual reality.
- The environment was also used to evaluate the dynamic aspects of field dependence and visual re-weighting in virtual reality. Both studies were published in Frontiers in Virtual Reality (2020) and Frontiers in Virtual Reality (2021).
- Scene 1 is a visit through an environment inspired by Ancient Rome. Participants follow wooden signs and open doors to reach a final point. Incorrect doors, position and duration are automatically recorded.
- Scene 2 is a spatial cognition assessment based on questions about the environment encountered during the first visit.
- Scene 3 repeats the visit without the wooden signs. Participants must reproduce the route from memory.
- Scene 4 is a final spatial cognition assessment based on the second visit.
Threat — Ecological Evaluation of the Sense of Presence
Virtual Reality · Psychophysiology
- This environment was designed to evaluate the sense of presence through subjective questionnaires, physiological measures such as heart rate and skin conductance, and behavioral responses.
- Scene 1 is a visit to a small, gloomy room reminiscent of a stone dungeon. The participant activates two levers before opening the door at the back.
- Scene 2 takes place in the same room after the floor has collapsed. The participant walks across wooden beams above a precipice approximately ten metres deep.
- Scene 3 reproduces the first scene but introduces a surprise fear stimulus: activating the second lever causes a monster to appear.
- These conditions were designed to elicit physiological and behavioral responses associated with fear and investigate their relationship with the subjective sense of presence.
PhiVR
Virtual Reality · Human Factors
- The PhiVR project was originally conceived during my PhD thesis and later conceptually updated in a MIT Press article.
- The objective is to help describe the immersive power of a technological system and the propensity of an individual to become immersed in virtual reality.
- First, the user describes the immersive system. The system is then evaluated through several components and a reliability score.
- The user then describes the cognitive profile of the individual being evaluated, producing another set of components and a reliability score.
- Finally, PhiVR predicts the expected experience from the interaction between system and human factors. This includes cybersickness, interface complexity and sense of presence.
- A global score can be used to control for individual differences in experimental data or to evaluate a priori which individuals may make the most of a VR system.
Multipic
Unity · Android · Cognitive Assessment
- Multipic is a Unity3D application optimized for Android and tablet resolution. It is designed to measure inhibitory skills in bilingual children.
- The experimenter first enters the participant's name or code. The participant then enters their own name.
- During the first part, the software randomly presents 50 drawings: 25 cognates and 25 non-cognates. The drawings come from the Multipic database developed by Duñabeitia et al. (2018).
- After a short test, participants complete a second task in which they write the name of each of the 50 items while eight English distractors are randomly displayed around the drawing.
- After the 50th drawing, the software automatically saves the experiment and stops. Participant name, screenshots and reaction times are saved locally.