RASL Director Nilanjan Sarkar receives nearly $2.7 million in NSF and NIH funding to explore how augmented reality can ease loneliness in older adults
“The lack of social connections in older adults can lead to serious health consequences, including cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, depression, and suicide,” said Sarkar, an expert in human-machine interaction. “Three-dimensional interactive technologies offer real promise when it comes to enhancing a person’s perception that their friends and loved ones are physically present.”
The new research will focus on creating next-generation augmented reality technologies, which superimpose virtual avatars and other digital images on real-world environments. That is in contrast to virtual reality, which fully immerses a person in a synthetic setting.
Read more at Vanderbilt Engineering News