Virtual Reality based System for Training and Monitoring Fire Safety Awareness for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are found having impairments related to brain development that causes deficits in social communication, cognitive skills, sensory and emotional regulations. Virtual Reality allows children with ASD to safely participate in interactive and immersive simulated situations. This proposed study contributes to children affected with ASD to improve managing their safety awareness on fire and to identify the environment that is about to cause a fire accident and make them exit from the situation. As short sessions and unembellished designs are advised in VR for such kinds of disorders, in this the work is attempted to create a model environment in Unity Engine, that could create awareness towards the improvisation of safety on fire by completing the tasks given through stages and to monitor them to analyze their task performances and make the participants to actively immerse into virtual experiences. So this system will help children with ASD to learn about fire cautions. As a result after the required sessions, they will be to learn how to react and escape from a fire accident.