Positive Technology Journal

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(the following excerpt is from the original article published in the Observer)

Inspired by Star Trek's holodeck, a virtual reality theatre will be built for treatment and therapy purposes at the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center. The theatre is titled, "Immersive Virtual Reality Cave Simulator" (IVR-Cave).
Under the guidance of Stacy Willams, an assistant professor in communication services at Case, the construction on the theater will be complete by April 2006. Williams formulated the concept of the room with inspiration from Star Trek while she was working on her master's degree.

"I was intrigued by the whole holodeck concept, and at the time [when working on a masters degree], I was learning the importance of carry-over techniques, or generalizing what you learn in therapy to a natural environment," Williams said.

With this new simulator, therapists will get a chance to show patients real-life scenarios in a controlled environment, before they are out on their own in the real world...

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