JAPAN: Virtual reality could help those afraid of heights get over the fear by training, according to a Japanese company

Record ID: 465337

  • Title: JAPAN: Virtual reality could help those afraid of heights get over the fear by training, according to a Japanese company
  • Date: 25th June 2009
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (JUNE 24, 2009) (REUTERS) MAN PUTTING ON VIRTUAL REALITY HELMET MAN TRYING TO WALK WITH HELMET SCREEN SHOT OF APPROACHING WINDOW LEDGE MAN WALKING WITH HELMET VISITORS WATCHING SCREEN WOMAN STANDING UP WITH HELMET COVERING MOUTH SCREEN SHOT OF STEPPING ON SCAFFOLD WOMAN LOSING BALANCE AND REMOVING HELMET MOTION CAPTURE CAMERA (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) EXPO VISITOR, CHIE GOTO, SAYING: "It felt real. I was shocked by its real feeling." (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) EXPO VISITOR, SHOJI HIROSE, SAYING: "It was more scary than in the real world. I felt dizzy." VIRTUAL REALITY BOOTH AND SCREEN MAN'S SHOES WITH MOTION SENSORS VISITOR WALKING INTO BOOTH WITH HELMET (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT AND CEO OF CRESCENT INC., HAJIME KOTANI, SAYING: "This system can be used for a lot of different purposes. For example, it can train people to better prepare for a big earthquake. It could also help business owners simulate what it would be like to walk in their shops before they even build them." EMPLOYEE WORKING ON COMPUTER WOMAN DANCING IN PINK ROOM/ SCREEN MOTION SENSOR ABOVE WOMAN DANCING MAN WEARING 3-D GLASSES CROWD WEARING 3-D GLASSES IN BOOTH VISITORS WATCHING SCREEN "17TH INDUSTRIAL VIRTUAL REALITY EXPO" SIGN EXPO VENUE
  • Embargoed: 10th July 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Science / Technology
  • Reuters ID: LVA6KWCFPDMCW09F628M0AF94NR4
  • Story Text: Imagine a fire breaks out in a high-rise building and you're trapped on the 24th floor.
    And chances are you, like many others around you, are afraid of heights. A combination of a fire and vertigo could easily put you in panic mode. It's a scary scenario but a very possible one.
    That's why Japanese company Crescent is suggesting people try out its simulated fire drill programme in the virtual reality world.
    "It felt real. I was shocked by its real feeling," said Chie Goto, who was too scared to walk when she was instructed to jump onto a scaffold from a 24th floor-window during the virtual fire drill.
    The virtual drill system was on display at this year's Industrial Virtual Reality Expo that kicked off on Wednesday (June 24) in Tokyo.
    "It was more scary than in the real world, I felt dizzy," said another expo visitor Shoji Hirose, 39.
    The virtual system would not only help users overcome acrophobia and keep composure in a real emergency situation, but also be used in different ways, manufacturers say.
    "This system can be used for a lot of different purposes. For example, it can train people to better prepare for a big earthquake. It could also help shop owners simulate what it would be like to walk in their shops before they even build them," said Hajime Kotani, president and CEO of Tokyo-based Crescent Inc., which sells the virtual system.
    The system is sold in Japan for the equivalent of 300,000 US dollars.
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