Thesis Project Form

CAVE systems are immersive rooms equipped with multiple projectors, where users can interact with VR and be continuously tracked as they immerse themselves in virtual environments. Though effective, such rooms require specific hardware and setup, the availability of dedicated space and personnel taking care of calibration and maintenance.

The goal of this thesis is to create a fully working setup, namely a “mini-CAVE”, composed of a multimonitor configuration that mimics the immersive CAVE, a treadmill that allows walking, fully synchronized with a VR experience designed and implemented in Unity, and a markerless user tracking system based on standard and/or RGBD cameras. The main focus of the thesis is the system integration and the creation of a prototype ready to be used in the context of neuromotor rehabilitation, combining both physical activity (walking on the treadmill) and cognitive exercises. However, the system will be ready for future adaptation to other contexts, including entertainment and physical exercise, beyond neuromotor rehabilitation.

The student will perform the following activities:
-Analysis of the existing non-immersive VR software developed to allow walking and cognitive activities in VR
-Implementation of markerless techniques to detect the users’ pose, to allow interaction, and to perform a preliminary movement analysis
-Integration of physiological data
-Implementation of a multimonitor visualization
-Bi-directional communication with the treadmill, supporting FTMS
-Design of the experiments, experiments, and data analysis (with both healthy subjects and Rett patients)