The Virtual Human Breathing Coach

Abstract

Emerging technology such as Virtual Reality has been successfully explored in healthcare, including Virtual Reality Therapy in mindfulness and relaxation. However, most of these explorations lack the stimulating environment that gives users the sense of personal connection through the exchange of bodily cues with another human. We present a breathing relaxation system where a (virtual) human coach guides users' breathing to a relaxed state. Our virtual breathing coach is of a realistic human appearance, speaks in a human voice, produces human gesticulation, and displays breathing animations. Here we describe the theoretical background in human-to-human physiological entrainment and the framework of the Virtual Human Breathing Coach where the virtual coach guides users through a set of established 'Box' breathing exercises. Lastly, we will describe how we quantify the success of the system in influencing the users' breathing to a level that is prescribed by the virtual breathing coach. The application of our system ranges from remote health monitoring to self-help training that can be accessed from the comfort of our homes.