Remote VR-Enabled Interpersonal Coordination for Perceptual-Motor Rehabilitation

The successful candidate will support research in the Interdisciplinary Development of Remote Virtual Reality Enabled Interpersonal Coordination Assessment and Intervention Platform in the Health Sciences. This project is led by Dr Nadine Aburumman in the Department of Computer Science at Brunel University London, in collaboration with Dr Dominic Orth from the Department of Physiotherapy, Health Sciences.

This project seeks to develop a social virtual reality (VR) platform specifically for remote perceptual-motor rehabilitation, focusing on interpersonal movement coordination tasks. While VR has been extensively applied to facilitate social interaction at scale (e.g. gaming, remote meetings), its application in perceptual-motor rehabilitation remains limited. The project aims to enhance the translational impact of immersive technologies through the systematic development of complex perceptual-motor learning tasks typical of rehabilitation settings, such as when a therapist teaches a patient novel movement patterns.

The challenge is to design a scalable, user-centred platform where a client and therapist can share a virtual space and engage in dynamic motor tasks and exercises. This represents an interdisciplinary research problem at the intersection of computer science, physical therapy, and user-centred design.

Key project activities include:

  1. Design of a collaborative VR space with social motor interactivity and measurement capabilities.
  2. User-based proof of concept development.
  3. Experiments with low-risk populations to compare remote VR-enabled versus in-person assessments and training.
  4. Observational studies with high-risk populations to evaluate motor and fitness outcomes following VR-enabled rehabilitation.

This project offers a unique opportunity to contribute to the design and evaluation of responsible, impactful XR-based interventions in health science.

How to apply

If you are interested in applying for the above PhD topic please follow the steps below:

  1. Contact the supervisor by email or phone to discuss your interest and find out if you would be suitable. Supervisor details can be found on this topic page. The supervisor will guide you in developing the topic-specific research proposal, which will form part of your application.
  2. Click on the 'Apply here' button on this page and you will be taken to the relevant PhD course page, where you can apply using an online application.
  3. Complete the online application indicating your selected supervisor and include the research proposal for the topic you have selected.

Good luck!

This is a self funded topic

Brunel offers a number of funding options to research students that help cover the cost of their tuition fees, contribute to living expenses or both. See more information here: https://www.brunel.ac.uk/research/Research-degrees/Research-degree-funding. The UK Government is also offering Doctoral Student Loans for eligible students, and there is some funding available through the Research Councils. Many of our international students benefit from funding provided by their governments or employers. Brunel alumni enjoy tuition fee discounts of 15%.

Meet the Supervisor(s)

Nadine Aburumman - Nadine researches real-time computer graphics and leads the Graphics and Extended Reality Team (GERT). She is a member of the Centre for AI: Social and Digital Innovation, where she co-coordinated the AI Centre Thought Leadership series (TLS) for two years (2023 and 2024). She is also a member of the Interactive Multimedia System (IMS) research group. Before joining Brunel, Nadine was a research associate at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience (ICN) at University College London (UCL). Prior to that, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the Computer Science Research Institute of Toulouse (IRIT) funded by Centre International de Mathématiques et Informatique de Toulouse (CIMI) after a successful grant acquisition (fellowship) for 2 years (€ 100K). Before that, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, in the Institute for Multiscale Simulation (MSS). She completed her PhD studies in the ALCOR Lab at Sapienza University of Rome after being awarded a PhD Erasmus Mundus Scholarship.
Dominic Orth - Dr. Dominic Orth is a Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy at the Department of Health Sciences. His primary research delves into understanding how individuals perceive and adapt their physical movements, a concept termed as "perceptual-motor learning." He also focuses on how theories and modern technologies can enhance this learning across a diverse range of groups. This includes participants in both elite and community sports, individuals undergoing the natural process of ageing, and those in rehabilitation.

Related Research Group(s)

Human Computer Interaction

Human Computer Interaction - Investigating ways in which humans and computers can interact through intuitive interface design, understanding of human factors and multimedia.