Bernhardt Jase, Dusek Gregory, Hesse Arielle, Santos William, Jennings Thomas, Smiros Alexander, Montes Antoinette
Department of Geology, Environment and Sustainability, Hofstra University;
National Ocean Service, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
J Vis Exp. 2020 Jul 16(161). doi: 10.3791/61296.
Beachgoers in the United States face many different hazards, but rip currents are annually the deadliest for ocean swimmers. Despite the risk presented by rip currents, it is apparent that the public has a limited understanding of their danger and the proper mitigating actions to take when caught in one. A virtual reality (VR) video game placing participants in a simulated rip current was developed to help ameliorate this issue. The VR game was used to survey beachgoers on the Atlantic Coast of Long Island, New York during July and August 2019. The actions participants took when confronted with the rip current were recorded, along with whether they escaped it or drowned. An interview with each player was also conducted after they partook in the game to determine the realism of the rip current simulation and its effectiveness in demonstrating proper actions to take when impacted by one. Analysis of those results indicates that VR has potential to communicate rip current risk and ways to minimize it in a unique and engaging manner. However, further work is needed to improve ease of use of the VR simulation and better understand how factors such as demographics influence perceived rip current risk and behavioral response.
美国的海滩游客面临着许多不同的危险，但对于海洋游泳者来说，离岸流每年都是最致命的。尽管离岸流存在风险，但显然公众对其危险以及被困其中时应采取的适当缓解措施了解有限。为此开发了一款虚拟现实（VR）视频游戏，让参与者置身于模拟的离岸流中，以帮助改善这一问题。2019年7月和8月期间，该VR游戏被用于对纽约长岛大西洋海岸的海滩游客进行调查。记录了参与者面对离岸流时采取的行动，以及他们是逃脱了还是溺水了。在每个玩家参与游戏后，还对他们进行了采访，以确定离岸流模拟的真实感及其在演示受离岸流影响时应采取的正确行动方面的有效性。对这些结果的分析表明VR有潜力以独特且引人入胜的方式传达离岸流风险以及将其降至最低的方法。然而，还需要进一步开展工作，以提高VR模拟的易用性，并更好地了解人口统计学等因素如何影响人们对离岸流风险的认知以及行为反应。
