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21 December 2020 | Story André Damons | Photo Supplied
The KAT Walk mini (Omni Directional Treadmill) used to reduce and eliminate cybersickness.

An officer at the School of Nursing Simulation Laboratory of the University of the Free State (UFS) is aiming to cure or minimise cybersickness in nursing students with a popular virtual reality gaming tool.

Bennie Botha, who is acting as head of the Information, Communication and Simulation Technology at the School of Nursing Simulation Laboratory, developed a virtual environment in which nursing students use immersive virtual reality to perform a simulation scenario. This is part of his master’s degree in Computer Science and Informatics under the supervision of Dr Lizette de Wet and co-supervisor Prof Yvonne Botma.

Botha received his master’s degree with distinction during the UFS virtual graduation in October.

Cybersickness

Botha had found that some people experience cybersickness (almost like motion sickness), which is a significant issue and difficult to address. This he would now try to address with a virtual reality gaming tool – the KAT Walk mini.

According to Botha this technology has never been attempted for health-care education and is mostly used in military and pilot training and is very popular as a gaming platform for hardcore virtual reality gamers.

“To test and provide a possible solution I am going to incorporate the KAT Walk mini (Omni Directional Treadmill – almost like the Ready Player One concept) into which students are strapped and they can physically walk and turn around without the need for large open spaces.

“With this I will try and determine whether it decreases or even eliminates cybersickness due to sensory mismatch while using immersive virtual reality. I wanted to provide possible evidence of what causes cybersickness and want to enable virtual reality as an educational tool, not just for gaming. I think immersive virtual reality has a bright future if the kinks (of which the biggest is cybersickness) can be minimised,” says Botha.

Getting funding

He successfully applied for funding in 2020 and received R150 000.

“I must say I was surprised when I got the approval letter. I thought that due to the economic status it would not go through, but I was really glad when I got the approval as this is my dream and I love working with virtual reality for health care. The grant has made my dream come true, especially considering that this sounds more like something from science fiction,” says Botha.

The project started in November 2017 when Botha first conceptualised the idea and took it to Dr De Wet. He then started it as a masters’ project in 2018 and completed it at the end of 2019.

An equal opportunity for students

Botha says immersive virtual reality gives students more time and a more accessible platform where they can practise their skills as it is easy to use and easy to set up compared to other modalities of simulation. But the biggest task is developing a usable virtual environment that gives students more time to practise and increase their theory and practical integration which is key to providing highly skilled health-care professionals.

“By seeking and possibly implementing the new research, I aim to provide students an equal opportunity to partake in immersive virtual reality simulation as it currently excludes people who are prone to high levels of cybersickness. This means they cannot benefit from the same opportunities as other students do.

“I believe it can help all nursing students in SA and Africa as it is much more cost-effective than high-technology manikins and is easier to set up and access with much less manual input required to make it work (apart from the initial development.).”

News Archive

Successful conviction on edible oil adulteration
2009-03-28

A successful conviction in the South African food industry for selling diluted olive oil under the guise of virgin olive oil was handed down in the Special Commercial Crimes Court in Durban this week.

Salvatore Pollizi, owner of the company Ital Distributors, pleaded guilty in terms of Section 105A of the Crime Prosecuting Act to selling fake virgin olive oil under the names of Antico Frantoio and Ulivo.

He was sentenced to a fine of R250 000 or three years’ imprisonment, of which R130 000 or 18 months imprisonment is suspended for five years, on condition that he is not found guilty of fraud or theft or an attempt to commit such crimes during the period of suspension.

The offence was committed in 2001 when the scandal involving olive oil being mixed with a cheaper edible oil and being sold as the more expensive virgin olive oil was uncovered by scientists from the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein, in collaboration with Mr Guido Costas, The Olive Growers’ Association, AgriInspec and the South African Police Services.

According to Prof. Lodewyk Kock, Head of the South African Fryer Oil Initiative (SAFOI) that is based at the UFS, the conviction is to his knowledge the first successful conviction of this kind in the South African food industry.

Prof. Kock said, “The court’s decision on Monday, 23 March 2009 is good news to our country and sends out a dire warning to all fraudsters in the food industry.”

He attributed the successful conviction to the active and enthusiastic participation by Advocate Joanna Bromley-Gans from the Special Commercial Crime Unit (SCCU) in Durban, Captain Pragasen Govender from the Serious Economic Offences Unit (SEOU) in Pretoria and the team from SAFOI.

Prof. Kock said that in 2003 some of the prominent members of the edible oil industry took responsibility for the authenticity of their own oils by appointing outside laboratories for routine monitoring.

In some cases a seal of approval from such laboratories is displayed on the monitored oil containers. This is an attempt to inform oil distributors, shop buyers and consumers that these oils have been monitored by an outside laboratory for authenticity.

This “policing” has been supported by major role players in the fast-food sector like Nando’s, Spur, Captain Dorego’s, King Pie Holdings, etc. and various oil distributors like Felda Bridge Africa, Willowton Oil & Cake Mills, Refill Oils, etc.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel:  051 401 2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za
27 March 2009




 

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