Swimming with dolphins in Northampton? University helps nurse Rebecca to create underwater experience for people with disabilities

People with disabilities will soon be able to swim with dolphins in the heart of land-locked Northampton thanks to a project involving the town’s university.

It has been a long-held dream of learning disabilities nurse, Rebecca Gill, to combine therapeutic hydrotherapy with virtual reality, to allow patients to experience swimming with dolphins while immersed in water.

Rebecca, who is the founder of Northampton social enterprise VR Therapies, turned to the University of Northampton to help her realise her dream, and she’s been blown away with the results.

Two Games Art lecturers and a student worked with Rebecca to produce an underwater virtual reality world that harnesses mobile phone technology and is played via a waterproof VR headset.

Watch the footage below

Patients will be able to explore the virtual ocean scene while in a hydrotherapy pool, when VR Therapies opens the doors to its building in Northampton, in 2020.

“The experience you get when you put the headset on is amazing, and everything I ever dreamed of,” said Rebecca, who graduated from the University’s Nursing degree, in 2009.

“I have funding for my centre and the hydrotherapy pools, but all the VR footage of dolphins has been generic content and not aimed at people with disabilities.

“I wanted something bespoke, made with disabilities in mind, that combines the benefits of both therapies in a truly innovative way. The team at UON has certainly delivered what I wanted, they were all absolutely amazing.”

Rebecca Gill tries on the headset for the first time

Rebecca added: “Combining virtual reality with hydrotherapy creates a truly immersive multisensory experience, that can allow everyone to swim with dolphins.

“It’s a dream come true for somebody, who is perhaps limited in their mobility and in a wheelchair. They can become almost weightless in the pool, which is a relief and incredibly therapeutic in itself, and then to be able immerse themselves in such a realistic virtual world adds so much to the experience.

“Research has also shown that VR therapy has a positive impact on the lives of children who are going through chemotherapy and improves social and behavioural difficulties for patients with autism. Additionally, it reduces levels of pain, stress, depression and anxiety. The VR therapy is also very useful for end of life patients to allow them to experience things on their bucket list.”

The virtual environment was built by Games Art Senior Lecturer, Iain Douglas, while the dolphin was animated by Games Art Lecturer, Rob Lambert.

Iain said: “We were delighted to be able to share our expertise to develop such a worthwhile project. It was so gratifying to see Rebecca’s reaction to the virtual world, when she put the headset on for the first time. We’re now looking forward to VR Therapies opening its first centre in Northampton, next year, and hearing how the project is helping so many people with complex needs.”

Final year Games Art student, Cameron Torrie, was responsible for texturing the virtual world’s terrain and optimising the program so it runs smoothly on a mobile phone.

The University of Northampton team, from left, Charlotte Patrick, Rob Lambert, Iain Douglas and Cameron Torrie.

“Cameron said: “It was a real technical challenge to get it running successfully on a mobile, because the processing of the files is huge, and phones just can’t cope with it. So, I had to put in a lot of work to optimise everything so it runs smoothly and I’m very happy with the results.”

Cameron added: “I think this project is the perfect example of how students on the Games Art course can explore different career avenues. Many would-be students might just think of consoles and video games when they hear about the Games Art course. But the skills we learn can be implemented in so many ways, for so many different sectors – for example, in healthcare, as this project proves.”

The partnership between VR Therapies and the University was forged thanks to the University of Northampton Business Innovation Grant (BIG).

BIG enables organisations in the county to work with the institution’s academics and facilities, with the aim of developing new products, processes, services, gaining new insights or generally developing business. You can read more about BIG on our website.