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eRMLab (Empathic Reactive Media Lab) Research Group

Description

The Empathic Reactive Media Lab (eRMLab), located in the Department of Psychiatry in the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain (UAM), is an interdisciplinary, international and intercultural academic research lab. It is specifically focused on virtual realities applied to medicine and empathy.

It is a space dedicated to the research and progressive innovation of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (XR) and multisensorial reality (MR) and their educational potential, through the analysis and implementation of biometric technology for the collection of physiological data.

The director, founder and visionary of the eRMLab is Emeritus Prof. Dr. José María Poveda de Agustín (Spain), Department of Psychiatry, UAM.

Virtual Reality 

VR is used to totally immerse the user in an uninterrupted space, a place where they can experience new perceptions and explore, learn and understand how to sense the emotions of others. The effects of the state produced by VR are measured in real time, using non-invasive biometrics..

Empathy

Empathy, in our research, refers to the ability to understand, share, try out and create communication and collaboration through the feelings, emotions and thoughts of others.  It facilitates interpersonal communication and collaboration.

Biometrics

Biometrics is the field referring to detailed biological information about the changes going on under the skin (brain, heart, lungs, muscles, etc.)  during the exposure to VR. Biometrics is a system that registers physical and emotional cyclical changes (biorhythms) and other behavioural episodes of interest. It allows people to enhance teaching conditions and increase the speed of learning.

About Us

The eRMLab is composed of a multidisciplinary group of professionals and university faculty in the fields of medicine, psychology, education, geopolitics, high tech, optical engineering, the world of art and image processing, including computer vision, that collaborate from the Department of Psychiatry with the Faculty of Medicine and with universities that have agreements with the UAM. We also have external experts such as developers and consultants to strengthen our work with innovative technologies such as virtual realities, and their educational applications.

The team was born to promote educational innovation in health sciences, pedagogical research using virtual realities and non-invasive biometrics with a special focus on empathy.

Housed in the Library building of the Faculty of Medicine at the UAM, the eRMLab has the cutting-edge technological tools necessary to explore the power and potential of virtual realities, to implement various research projects and to provide a place to experiment with VR firsthand, sharing experiences and knowledge, as well as cultivating innovation. The eRMLab is used by undergraduate and graduate students for practical training in Medical Psychology. It is also prepared for students with disabilities, including visual, motor and manual impairment

The coordinating members of the eRMLab are:

Director and Founder
Emeritus Professor Dr. José María Poveda de Agustín (Spain)
Department of Psychiatry, UAM
Email: josemaria.poveda@uam.es
Web Page: José María Poveda.com

Academic Secretary
Prof. Dr. Jesús Poveda de Agustín (España) (763kB)
Department of Psychiatry, UAM
Professor of Medical Psychology & Bioethics
Email: jesus.poveda@uam.es

Laboratory Training
Dr. Francisco (Paco) Fernández González (España)
Email: pacofrnndz@gmail.com

Online Training
Juan Poveda de Agustin (España)
Email: juanpobdt@gmail.com

Web Page and International Relations
Dra. Sheila Robbie (España)
Email: sheilarobbie.ue@gmail.com 

Consultants and Researchers

Main Objectives

The main objectives of the eRMLab are to:

  • Provide information and training to facilitate educational processes
  • Provide tools for biometric assessment throughout the life cycle
  • Investigate empathy through the use of VR, integrating emotional intelligence, artificial intelligence and biometric resources
  • Analyse the ethical and philosophical implications in the fields of research and intervention.

Our mission is to:

  • Train teachers and students in the use of neuro-techno-education and its specific applications
  • Investigate states of VR immersion in order to produce more fluid adaptations in learning and interpersonal relationships, achieving positive mood changes
  • Establish procedures that facilitate motivation, experimentation and interaction in order to improve empathy
  • Optimise and validate the learning process by applying VR and AR tools and their playful effects on the evaluation of gamification and empathy
  • Create an international research forum with other experts in the use of these technologies applied in various areas of reality
  • To become a research platform applying artificial intelligence algorithms and the use of technological tools involved in VR to facilitate emotional skills.

Our Project

  • To carry out scientific research projects at a national and international level in accordance with the highest academic criteria
  • To provide a theoretical and practical framework to apply VR in health sciences
  • To develop and design products to facilitate education, rehabilitation and treatment
  • To organise courses, meetings and congresses
  • To publish and present results in prestigious international conferences
  • To evaluate and invest in possible new applications, resources and products to improve the operation of the eRMLab
  • To seek support from national and international organisations and foundations, as well as sponsors and other sources of financial support.

We do this by:

  • Internationalising our projects from the outset
  • Training trainers
  • Investigating and psychologically evaluating new models of immersion, gamification, interaction, and telepresence
  • Facilitating a better understanding of the Life Cycle using the new perspectives given by VR
  • Using the benefits of cooperative intergenerational learning, in which, for example, a mother and her daughter study nursing simultaneously. This produces experiences of impact that can be of present, future and past utility
  • Using specific VR programs to address PTSD
  • Investigating the application of specific and generic VR programs for the management of the four basic emotions: anger, joy, sadness and fear and the four corresponding psychopathologies: violence, euphoria, depression and anxiety-paranoia
  • Finding new ways to innovate the use of existing programs for VR, AR, XR and MR
  • Developing a model for using VR to foster empathy.

Examples of ongoing individual and group research projects:

  • Plurilingualism, multilingualism, neuroeducation and virtual realities
  • Development of clinical support instruments for Personalised Medicine (PM): Implementation of Virtual Reality and Biometrics before and after surgical procedures in Breast Cancer patients
  • Eye-tracking and pupillometry: the interaction between baby and mother in the first year of the Life Cycle
  • Equestrian biometry: quantitative evaluation of psychophysiological interactions in horse riding
  • Promotion of mental health using VR and Biometrics
  • Development of skills for excellence in vital crises (international postgraduate degree UAM) presenting VR and Biometric tools
  • Research on the use of VR for the teaching of anatomy in health sciences (medicine, nursing, dentistry and physiotherapy)
  • A course in Neuro-techno-education to train new professionals in the use of VR and Biometrics to teach the course contents
  • Applications of VR to the problems created by gender violence, including the approach to post-traumatic stress disorder
  • The use of biometrics to recognise, in real time, the changes produced on the body by virtual reality.

Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Calle del Arzobispo Morcillo 4. 28029 Madrid. Tel. +34 91 497 54 86  Fax. 91 497 53 53. Email. informacion.medicina@uam.es