PhD Scholarship Microsoft Research School of Psychology, Queen’s University Belfast

Overview

As the burden of an ageing society weighs more heavily on current health care systems, new ways of improving older adults’ general health and well-being need to be found. By adopting a more multidisciplinary (psychologists, engineers and designers) approach, the aim of this project is to design new interactive games that promote health and well being in elderly adults. The body of the work will build on a recent study that has shown how playing bespoke balance games significantly improves balance function and reduces fear of falling in elderly adults. The focus of the project will be on how current motion sensor technology can be used to design adapted games that not only create a great user experience but have significant health benefits for elderly adults.

Supervisory Team and Research Environment

The successful applicant will be based primarily in the Perception and Action research lab in the School of Psychology at Queen’s University Belfast with Professor Cathy Craig. The perception action research lab has state of the art research facilities dedicated uniquely to perception/action research. This includes a fully immersive and interactive augmented/virtual reality system with integrated motion tracking and 12 Oqus infrared Qualisys 3D motion capture cameras. Dr Stuart Ferguson (School of Electronics, Engineering and Computer Science) will also be part of the supervisory team based at QUB. Bronac Ferran a Senior Tutor in the Innovation Design Engineering group at the Royal College of Art in London will advise on game narratives and the design part of the project. Dr Richard Harper at Microsoft Research Cambridge will co-supervise the project, allowing for frequent visits to Cambridge and a possible internship at Microsoft Research.

How to Apply

Candidates should have a strong interest in perception/action research (particularly affordances), game design, research with older adults and/or virtual reality. Suitable degrees include psychology, neuroscience, engineering or computer science. Research experience is desirable and proficiency in programming (e.g. C++ and OpenGL/DirectX graphics libraries) is an advantage, but not essential.

Applicants should send a pdf of their application by email to Pr. Cathy Craig (cathy.craig@qub.ac.uk) by 4pm (BST) on Friday 8th July, 2011. The application should include: i) a CV (including publications (if any) and the names of three referees), ii) a personal statement (details below) and iii) a copy of university transcripts.

Interviews will follow the initial closing date of 8th July, 2011.

The personal statement should:

- Detail why you want to do a PhD in this area and illustrate how your existing qualifications and
experience relate to the proposed area of research. (max. 750 words)
- Highlight some of the challenges you see in being able to carry out this project. (max. 250
words)

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/collaboration/global/phdposition_adapted-games-elderly.pdf

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