14 April,2021 08:01 PM IST | Mumbai | BrandMedia
Rahul Patil
Rahul's curiosity in using emerging technology as a tool to solve tough human problems is at the heart of his work. From a background in commerce to animation and his early
studies in sculpture, animations, and visual effects, he has broadened his horizons to include experimental genres and mediums such as do-it-yourself electronics and self-taught coding.
His first technology company, which he co-founded with friends, was launched in 2011. After that collapsed after a year, he went on to co-found two more media and technology startups in 2012 and 2014. He went on to work on smart city ventures and a social cryptocurrency platform after that. He founded Virtual Reality venture firm, SimoneFx Reality Labs Pvt. Ltd.in 2020. In the area of virtual reality technology and immersive experience, he recently applied for his first patent.
Virtual Reality, Social Media & Mental Health
For the past decade, researchers have been studying and discovering the impact of emerging technology and social media in the rise of mental health disorders. For several years, the difficulty of managing and treating mental and psychological health problems has grown, and recent pandemic-driven developments in our communities pose an even greater threat to our collective well-being and prosperity.
Via interactive simulations that replicate the real environment and/or stimuli that is the source of the patient's anxiety, VR will put the person in direct contact with their phobia, cheaply, easily, and frequently. Virtual reality has the potential to revolutionise research into human behaviour.
SimoneFX Reality Labs is working on technologies that can monitor and translate human intent and expression into reliable and enforceable feedback about human behaviour in a variety of industries. This could be a big breakthrough for treating mental health disorders.
How will SimoneFX address key issues with VR?
SimoneFX Reality Labs creates Virtual reality, Mixed reality and Extended reality (XR) experiences for various industries by combining art and real-time behavioural data. Their machine learning model investigates bio-feedback patterns and makes this information available to people working in a variety of fields, including virtual reality
films, entertainment, healthcare professionals, academics, defence simulations, education, and gaming.
The integrated approach offered by Rahul's company offers unrivalled insight into the assessment of emotions and biometric responses. It gives researchers the opportunity to monitor the user experience, making it suitable for assessing behaviour in virtual environments.
They use a variety of sensing techniques to detect emotional and stress responses to stimuli, including electrical facial muscle function, heart rate features, head movement, and eye-tracking. Their cloud AI engine interprets the data and offers on-demand insights into emotional state and response.
Their customers want simulations that are similar to real-life situations without the expense or discomfort of travelling to a teacher or researcher. They aim to provide data that is tailored toeach user. For objective assessment of 2D and 3D material and computer interaction, their highly sensitive hardware can be used in psychology and neuroscience research. The emotion-sensing technology is built into commercial VR headsets, allowing users to monitor their experiences with emotion as an input.
The future is here already
SimoneFX Reality Lab's in-development product monitors biometrics to provide comprehensive insights into emotional responses.This will give access to an open integration API that allows the connection to 3D game engines and access to the Cloud AI, which can convert sensor data into human purpose and expression. Signal filters are used to visualise real-time data. The ability to gather and analyse unprocessed and translated data.
In the near future, they say that their Virtual Reality Headset will provide a wearable interface for monitoring facial muscle movement and emotional responses in the real world. By the collection and analysis of human emotional responses in real-time in the real world using a variety of multi-modal, patent-pending sensor technologies, proprietary algorithms, and live data streaming, they are preparing the next generation of VR solutions for real world challenges
By September 2021, SimoneFX expects to launch and test their first virtual reality-enabled development kits to improve mental health treatment. This is going to be an effective tool for health professionals treating such disorders.
