Virtual Kayaking: A Local Culture-Based Virtual Reality Paddling Experience

An activity in a well-designed virtual environment can provide both a short-term emotional impression and an immersive experience related to personal and cultural experience. In this study, we dissect the “Coming-of-Sixteen” (COS) ritual, a local rite of passage that derives from the Tainan city of Taiwan, and meticulously select kayaking activity as the theme among other related activities. Next, we propose a virtual kayaking experience (VKE) system that includes the physical movement of users using virtual reality (VR) techniques. We adopt real scenes of tradition-based culture as the vision of VR to evoke the motivation of the elderly, and also engage bystanders in the experience through these familiar scenes. To evaluate the feasibility of applying the VKE system to the rehabilitation of elderly people, we conduct two formative user-studies. The results suggest that virtual reality technology provides an opportunity to leverage culturally relevant activities, which can enhance the engagement of the elderly rehabilitation.