ComingHomeIndex

aka

Transitional Online Post-deployment Soldier Support
in Virtual Worlds
(TOPSS-VW)

A project of the University of Southern California's

Institute for Creative Technologies

Description:

Coming Home uses the power of online virtual worlds to create a place of camaraderie and healing for returning United States military veterans - a virtual space that can help them deal with problems related to their time of service and also assist in their reintegration into society. This veterans' space is in Second Life®, a popular immersive world, and is being constructed under consultation with medical experts and psychologists. Several types of social and healing activities planned. (See types of planned CAM activities here.)

In addition, barrier issues with virtual worlds are being addressed, such as lack of guides or helpers to ensure participants have a quality experience. To this end we are porting the advanced intelligence of the ICT's virtual human characters to avatars in Second Life®, so they will be able to greet the veterans, converse with them, guide them to relevant activities, and serve as informational agents for healing options. In this way such "avatar agents" will serve as autonomous intelligent characters that bring maximum engagement and functionality to the veterans' space. This part of the effort expands online worlds beyond their existing capabilities, as currently a human being must operate each avatar in the virtual world; few autonomous characters exist. As this project progresses we will engage in an iterative design process with veteran participants who will be able to advise us, along with the medical community, on what efforts are well suited to, and most effective within, the virtual world.

aka Transitional Online Post-deployment Soldier Support in Virtual Worlds (TOPSS-VW) A project of the University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies	Click here for a Short video introduction to Coming Home	PLEASE NOTE: This is a research project that uses the Second Life online virtual world. Second Life is huge. It contains everything from dance clubs to zoos. There is a recent trend to use the virtual world to promote real world good. That is where this project comes in. We saw a need that was huge, and were able to get funding to start a pilot program in Second Life just for veterans. Second Life is also full of groups for all purposes. There is a fast growing group of veterans from ALL United States military endeavors active in the Second Life world. They have a wonderful space and great resources for veterans looking for information specific to their needs. Coming Home is designed to offer both a space for social connection, and therapies in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), some of the same that are being used at Walter Reed and other military medical centers. Most of these are therapies to help one focus and center thoughts, relax and mitigate stress. ALL vets are welcome.
The project described here is sponsored by the U.S. Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command (RDECOM). Statements and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the United States Government, and no official endorsement should be inferred.		More information on accessing Second Life can be found at www.secondlife.com
Description: Coming Home uses the power of online virtual worlds to create a place of camaraderie and healing for returning United States military veterans - a virtual space that can help them deal with problems related to their time of service and also assist in their reintegration into society. This veterans' space is in Second Life®, a popular immersive world, and is being constructed under consultation with medical experts and psychologists. Several types of social and healing activities planned. (See types of planned CAM activities here.) In addition, barrier issues with virtual worlds are being addressed, such as lack of guides or helpers to ensure participants have a quality experience. To this end we are porting the advanced intelligence of the ICT's virtual human characters to avatars in Second Life®, so they will be able to greet the veterans, converse with them, guide them to relevant activities, and serve as informational agents for healing options. In this way such "avatar agents" will serve as autonomous intelligent characters that bring maximum engagement and functionality to the veterans' space. This part of the effort expands online worlds beyond their existing capabilities, as currently a human being must operate each avatar in the virtual world; few autonomous characters exist. As this project progresses we will engage in an iterative design process with veteran participants who will be able to advise us, along with the medical community, on what efforts are well suited to, and most effective within, the virtual world.		Current team: Jacquelyn Ford Morie, Project Lead Kip Haynes, Research Scientist Eric Chance, Technical Artist/Researcher Dinesh Purohit, Research Programmer
More detailed information can be found in the paper: Re-Entry: Online worlds as a healing space for veterans, presented at the Engineering Reality of Virtual Reality 21st Annual IS&T/SPIE Symposium, San Jose, CA. January 2009.
Images from Chicoma Island and the Veterans Center can be found here: Images of the Enrichment activities can be seen here: