iMotions and Varjo announce integration of Varjo’s headsets into the iMotions 8.0 software for next level human behaviour research
The iMotions software is used within fields such as psychology, medical research, usability, brand and marketing. The combination of Varjo’s headsets within the iMotions 8.0 platform provides for behavioural research to be carried out in high-fidelity virtual environments that are otherwise too costly, impractical, or even impossible to recreate in the real world.
Copenhagen/Helsinki – June 20, 2019 – iMotions, the maker of the world’s leading human behaviour research platform, and Varjo, the technology leader in industrial-grade VR/XR headsets, today announced an official partnership to integrate Varjo devices into the iMotions 8.0 software.
The iMotions software is used by both academic and commercial researchers working within fields such as psychology, medical research, usability, tech, engineering, marketing, and beyond. The combination of Varjo’s headsets, the world’s only human-eye resolution VR/XR devices, with the iMotions platform provides an opportunity for research to be carried out within each of these fields, in high-fidelity virtual environments that are otherwise too costly, impractical, or even impossible to recreate in the real world.
The iMotions platform allows the collection of synchronized data from multiple biosensors, including the sophisticated eye tracking built in to the Varjo headsets. Eye tracking data can be seamlessly synchronized with signals from biosensors, such as EDA (electrodermal activity), EMG (electromyography), ECG (electrocardiography), and EEG (electroencephalography). The use of multimodal biosensor data in the iMotions platform can provide insights about the user’s emotional and physiological states as they experience the virtual environment.
Varjo’s headsets have a resolution of more than 60 pixels per degree, which is 20X+ higher than any other VR headset currently on the market. They also come with the world’s most advanced integrated eye tracking, enabling high-precision analytics and interaction with human-eye resolution VR content.
“We are proud to partner with iMotions to usher in an entirely new way of conducting research through the use of virtual reality,” said Urho Konttori, Chief Product Officer and co-founder of Varjo. “The unmatched eye tracking technology built into our devices, coupled with the power of iMotions’ 8.0 platform to analyze data from various biosensor sources delivers an exciting opportunity for researchers to create simulated environments and capture new insights that weren’t possible before.”
Varjo’s products are only available for businesses and academic institutions and are designed to support the most demanding use scenarios where visual fidelity is paramount. Examples of use within iMotions include measuring physiological responses to stress of pilots or drivers, investigating biomarkers related to phobias, and capturing emotional responses to simulated architectural environments.
“Immersive virtual environments can dramatically broaden the reach of the scientific study of behavior, by bringing into reach contexts that would be difficult or impossible to create or study physically,” said Scott Greenwald, President and CEO of CoVR Solutions (a spin-off company of the MIT Media Lab) which collaborated with iMotions and Varjo on the integration.
“However, as long as there are significant perceptible differences between virtual and real environments, the results of these studies will require additional validation. Varjo gives us a glimpse into the future where virtual worlds are indistinguishable from real ones. The combination of this technology with the iMotions platform will supercharge the advancement of new, more powerful behavioral research.”
Key features of the integration of Varjo in the iMotions software include:
- Seamless, synchronized data collection. The iMotions software has been designed to make advanced human behavior research with multiple biosensors as simple as possible. Use single or multiple biosensors to understand the physiological and emotional responses to any virtual environment.
- A single platform for virtual experiments. The entire experimental process can be carried out within iMotions, from study design, to stimuli exposure, to data collection, analysis, and export. All with a range of biosensors that can provide insights into ongoing physiological and emotional responses.
- With a sub-degree accuracy, Varjo’s proprietary 20/20 Eye Tracker is the most advanced and powerful stereo eye tracking technology ever integrated into a VR headset – delivering unmatched precision and accuracy for interactivity, data collection and analysis in human-eye resolution.
- Fully flexible in any environment. It’s possible to use the iMotions API to collect data from the virtual environment, and combine with biosensor measurements – this data can even be sent back to modify or alter the environment.
Watch a video about the collaboration:
About iMotions and Varjo
iMotions has its headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, with offices in Singapore, Berlin, and Boston, MA. iMotions helps uncover underlying emotions and responses and reduces the complexity of carrying out human behavior research by enabling a wide array of sensors to be seamlessly connected in one platform. iMotions provides software, hardware, and services to 1000+ academic and commercial researchers worldwide.
Read more: imotions.com
Varjo Technologies Oy is based in Helsinki and makes revolutionary VR/XR hardware and software that together are jumpstarting a new era in immersive computing – where real and digital worlds merge seamlessly in human-eye resolution. The Bionic Display technology allows you to see virtual and augmented content as clearly as you see the real world.
Read more: varjo.com
