International audienceObjectives: In the context of rehabilitation, the use of new technology such as Virtual Reality Technology (VRT) offers multiple possibilities to modulate the functional stimulation of subjects according to needs.Material and methods: In this study, the validity and reliability of our VRT system were investigated in fifteen healthy aged adults (HAA) and seven aged subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). One implicit session was designed through two virtual environments (VEs) in order to induce the adapted activities associated with balance and postural control. In comparison, the same activities were achieved in explicit sessions with a physiotherapist. This cross-over study made use of a qualitative method to collect participants' feelings in both implicit and explicit sessions.Results: The results allowed us to validate the embedded technologies in our system and also the VE features for MCI subjects and their healthy counterparts. The analysis of participants' feelings showed that implicit tasks were preferred to explicit ones.Conclusion: This study highlighted that the use of VRT generated a competitive spirit in all participants. This point underlines the major role of reward motivation in motor learning processes in rehabilitation

We present WoaH, a virtual reality work-at-height simulator aimed at (i) testing whether future workers are able to manage their stress when high up and thus easily detect susceptibility to vertigo, and (ii) training in a typical work-at-height engineering operation. The simulator is composed of a real ladder synchronized in position with a virtual one placed 11 meters above the ground in a virtual environment. Visualization is done through a head-mounted display (HMD). We conducted a first user study evaluating our simulator in terms of cybersickness, perceived realism and anxiety, through both subjective (questionnaires) and objective (electrodermal activity) measurements, and testing whether vibratory cues could enhance the level of anxiety felt. Results indicate that WoaH generates anxiety as expected and is perceived as realistic. Adding vibrations had significant impact on the perceived realism but not on the electro-dermal activity. These first results bring insights to future developments for a deployment in companies dealing with work at height.

We propose to demonstrate a novel immersive virtual reality simulator aimed at detecting whether potential workers at height are able to climb high up for dangerous operations. Our simulator consists in a dynamic platform that simulates the vibrations of an aerial device during elevation, a real ladder synchronized in position with a virtual one placed on top of a virtual electric pole, a harness that allows users safely climbing the ladder and a head-mounted display (HMD) for visualization. Our demonstration invites users to experience a high fidelity work-at-height situation triggering fear of heights.