Rundo2025-Non-immersive to highly immersive Virtual Reality: the rele-vance of satisfaction evaluation for people with and without dementia

Virtual Reality (VR) encompasses a spectrum of experiences, ranging from non-immersive to highly immersive environments, providing a broad array of tools for cognitive rehabilitation. Assessing satisfaction with non-immersive and immersive devices, such as Cognitive Automatic Virtual Environments (CAVE) and Head-Mounted Displays (HMD), is essential to ensure that the technologies developed are truly accessible and beneficial, taking into account the specific needs and preferences of individuals with dementia. This study aims to explore in detail users’ satisfaction with different types of technological devices.
A satisfaction questionnaire was developed. Each participant (with and without demen-tia) first completed the initial section of the questionnaire, then engaged with three devices (Touch TV, CAVE, and VR Headset), and finally completed the second section assessing satisfaction with the use of each device.
Overall, no significant differences were found between participants with and without dementia in their satisfaction with the three devices. However, within the group of indi-viduals with dementia, a clear preference for the Touch TV emerged.
The study confirms that it is crucial to consider the type of VR device most preferred by this population. The preference for the Touch TV underscores the importance of usability and interface simplicity in technological devices designed for people with dementia.