Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence as Psychological Countermeasures in Space and Other Isolated and Confined Environments: A Scoping Review

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Sharp, Jennifer, Kelson, Joshua, South, Daryl, Saliba, Anthony, Kabir, Muhammad Ashad
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
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author Sharp, Jennifer
Kelson, Joshua
South, Daryl
Saliba, Anthony
Kabir, Muhammad Ashad
author_facet Sharp, Jennifer
Kelson, Joshua
South, Daryl
Saliba, Anthony
Kabir, Muhammad Ashad
contents Spaceflight is an isolated and confined environment (ICE) that exposes astronauts to psychological hazards, such as stress, danger, and monotony. Virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies can serve as psychological countermeasures as they can digitally simulate immersive environments, interactive companions, and therapeutic experiences. Our study employs a scoping literature review approach to identify what is currently known about the use and effectiveness of VR and AI-based interventions as psychological countermeasures to improve mood or emotional states in adults in space or other ICEs. Additionally, this review aimed to identify gaps in the knowledge base and whether a systematic review with meta-analysis was warranted. The review included studies where the intervention was used or intended for use in space or other extraterrestrial environments (ICE). Our search strategy yielded 19 studies from 3390 records across seven major databases. All studies focused on VR-based interventions, with no eligible AI-based intervention studies found. VR interventions were found to be effective for relaxation and improving mood, emergency training, as an interactive communication platform, for comparing interior designs, and for enhancing exercise. There were improvements for measures of mood and emotion\n (e.g., anxiety and stress); however, user preferences varied, and some instances of cybersickness were reported. A systematic review with meta-analysis is not recommended due to the heterogeneity of results. There is significant scope for further research into the use of VR for a wider range of mood and emotion variables using standardised assessment instruments. Additionally, the potential application of AI as a psychological countermeasure warrants further investigation.
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id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_01366
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence as Psychological Countermeasures in Space and Other Isolated and Confined Environments: A Scoping Review
Sharp, Jennifer
Kelson, Joshua
South, Daryl
Saliba, Anthony
Kabir, Muhammad Ashad
Human-Computer Interaction
Artificial Intelligence
Multimedia
Spaceflight is an isolated and confined environment (ICE) that exposes astronauts to psychological hazards, such as stress, danger, and monotony. Virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies can serve as psychological countermeasures as they can digitally simulate immersive environments, interactive companions, and therapeutic experiences. Our study employs a scoping literature review approach to identify what is currently known about the use and effectiveness of VR and AI-based interventions as psychological countermeasures to improve mood or emotional states in adults in space or other ICEs. Additionally, this review aimed to identify gaps in the knowledge base and whether a systematic review with meta-analysis was warranted. The review included studies where the intervention was used or intended for use in space or other extraterrestrial environments (ICE). Our search strategy yielded 19 studies from 3390 records across seven major databases. All studies focused on VR-based interventions, with no eligible AI-based intervention studies found. VR interventions were found to be effective for relaxation and improving mood, emergency training, as an interactive communication platform, for comparing interior designs, and for enhancing exercise. There were improvements for measures of mood and emotion\n (e.g., anxiety and stress); however, user preferences varied, and some instances of cybersickness were reported. A systematic review with meta-analysis is not recommended due to the heterogeneity of results. There is significant scope for further research into the use of VR for a wider range of mood and emotion variables using standardised assessment instruments. Additionally, the potential application of AI as a psychological countermeasure warrants further investigation.
title Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence as Psychological Countermeasures in Space and Other Isolated and Confined Environments: A Scoping Review
topic Human-Computer Interaction
Artificial Intelligence
Multimedia
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.01366