John Quarles: Making Lemonade Out of Lemons
By Annette Jennings
By Annette Jennings
John Quarles, age 30 and an Assistant Professor of
Computer Science at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), was
diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) at the age of 22. Shortly after
arriving at UTSA in 2009, John had a major attack that severely limited
his mobility. In an effort to regain lost skills, John received physical
therapy. During these sessions, John began to think about how the
therapy experience might be made better.
Having already worked with virtual reality (VR), a computer-generated environment that is experienced by a user as a real environment, it occurred to John that VR might have a role to play in rehabilitation. Although much research has been conducted on VR rehabilitation, no one has ever studied how people with problems affecting mobility like poor reflexes and balance respond to the fundamental aspects of VR, such as presence (i.e., the suspension of disbelief) and latency (the time between a user's interaction and a response)." Realizing that this information would be important to someday being able to develop VR therapies, John applied for and received grants from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to investigate how people with physical disabilities experience VR with applications to therapeutic video games.
Although John’s work is in its early stages, it is his ultimate goal “to use technology to help people function better in the real world.” Using himself as an example, John noted that he must see his surroundings to walk safely. Otherwise, he is likely to fall due to his poor balance. John predicts that within the next 10 years, it will be possible for portable electronic devices such as cell phones, implants, and special hats and glasses to receive and transmit sensory information. Such devices could provide clues to people to improve their ability to sense their surroundings, thereby making it possible for them to move about more easily.
John emphasizes the positive when talking about how MS has affected him. True, having MS has impacted his career by slowing him down, but it has also inspired his current work on VR. John’s wife Keira likes to say that John’s grants are “lemonade grants,” since John is using his research to make lemonade out of lemons (MS).
Having already worked with virtual reality (VR), a computer-generated environment that is experienced by a user as a real environment, it occurred to John that VR might have a role to play in rehabilitation. Although much research has been conducted on VR rehabilitation, no one has ever studied how people with problems affecting mobility like poor reflexes and balance respond to the fundamental aspects of VR, such as presence (i.e., the suspension of disbelief) and latency (the time between a user's interaction and a response)." Realizing that this information would be important to someday being able to develop VR therapies, John applied for and received grants from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to investigate how people with physical disabilities experience VR with applications to therapeutic video games.
Although John’s work is in its early stages, it is his ultimate goal “to use technology to help people function better in the real world.” Using himself as an example, John noted that he must see his surroundings to walk safely. Otherwise, he is likely to fall due to his poor balance. John predicts that within the next 10 years, it will be possible for portable electronic devices such as cell phones, implants, and special hats and glasses to receive and transmit sensory information. Such devices could provide clues to people to improve their ability to sense their surroundings, thereby making it possible for them to move about more easily.
John emphasizes the positive when talking about how MS has affected him. True, having MS has impacted his career by slowing him down, but it has also inspired his current work on VR. John’s wife Keira likes to say that John’s grants are “lemonade grants,” since John is using his research to make lemonade out of lemons (MS).
If you are interested in John’s research or would like to participate in one of his upcoming studies, go to: http://www.cs.utsa.edu/~jpq
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