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document
Design and development of a Virtual Dolphinarium for children with autism . The recent proliferation of virtual reality ( VR ) technology applications in the autism therapy to promote learning and positive behavior among such children has produced optimistic results in developing a variety of skills and abilities in them . Dolphin-assisted therapy has also become a topic of public and research interest for autism intervention and treatment . This paper will present an innovative design and development of a Virtual Dolphinarium for potential autism intervention . Instead of emulating the swimming with dolphins , our virtual dolphin interaction program will allow children with autism to act as dolphin trainers at the poolside and to learn ( nonverbal ) communication through hand gestures with the virtual dolphins . Immersive visualization and gesture-based interaction are implemented to engage children with autism within an immersive room equipped with a curved screen spanning a 320 ( ° ) and a high-end five-panel projection system . This paper will also report a pilot study to establish trial protocol of autism screening to explore the participants ' readiness for the virtual dolphin interaction . This research will have two potential benefits in the sense of helping children with autism and protecting the endangered species .
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Intervention_Educational
Virtual Dolphinarium
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Intervention_Educational
virtual reality ( VR ) technology applications
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Intervention_Psychological
Dolphin-assisted therapy
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Intervention_Other
Virtual Dolphinarium
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Intervention_Educational
Immersive visualization
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Intervention_Educational
gesture-based interaction