Feeding baby is all in the game
A virtual reality game developed by scientists at the University of Warwick aims to help parents who have difficulty weaning their babies on to solid food.
The researchers hope the device will be used as an ante-natal training tool by health professionals and that it could help prevent illnesses caused by feeding problems in infancy.
Parents using the system can observe the best way to feed a baby and gain a better understanding of what their baby is feeling.
The research is a collaboration between scientists at the WMG Digital Lab at the University of Warwick, paediatricians and clinical psychologists who have studied infant behaviours and feeding problems.
To make the game realistic, scientists filmed staff feeding babies between six and 14 months old at the university nursery.
The game will offer different levels of difficulty depending on the severity of the baby's feeding problems.Users will operate a games console to guide a spoon to the mouth of a baby on screen.
If users approach it correctly, the baby opens its mouth and eats the food. If they approach the baby with the spoon at the wrong angle or fail to gain the baby's attention, the baby turns its head, cries and refuses to eat.
The system will also provide feedback for users who continue to make the same mistakes.
The designer of the system, WMG Professor Alan Chalmers, said, 'It can be a challenge getting children to eat. The system will not only tell parents if they are feeding their baby correctly but will also get parents used to their children not performing and refusing food, so that they are ready and not thrown by it.'
Researchers will trial the system at the university's nursery and other settings in the area over the next six months to test users' response and find out if the game would be improved if an image of a real baby rather than a cartoon was used.
Further information
http://digital.warwick.ac.uk/ High-Fidelity-Virtual-Environments/virtual-baby-feeding.html
