A woman, who was given a virtual reality headset （虚拟现实耳机） experience for her 103 * birthday, chose a walk along a local cliff（悬崖） path—just near her care home. Joyce Penfold put on the headset and treadmill（踏车）combination which can transport people around the world or universe. She was given the opportunity with help from the University of Plymouth's ‘Generating Older Active Lives Digitally' program.
Joyce was previously given the chance to try the ROVR, choosing to take a virtual trip to the seaside in Godrevy, Hayle. There she saw a lighthouse in the sea. She liked the technology so much the GOALD team gave her another go at her 103vl birthday party at Tresillian House. That time she chose Maker Heights, just 63 miles from her Falmouth retirement home.
"Usually the only time I go out is when my daughter takes me out, and the furthest we go is just a few miles, for a coffee perhaps and a good old chat," said Joyce.
The team at the University of Plymouth is attempting to study how technology impacts on the health and well-being of older people. The headset works with an omni-directional （全方向的）treadmill, which allows the user to move in any direction—this gives users the chance to move around freely in a virtual environment as if they were actually there.
"I wasn't totally surprised because she does accept everything that's new. I think she was over 70 when she took her first aeroplane flight, so nothing puts her off," said Joyce's daughter, Maria Blagden.
"We're really interested in the use of technology to support physical activity for older adults, and for us this technology has a lot of potential in that regard. As people walk on the treadmill, they get to explore the virtual worlds, and having a range of places to be explored creates a motivation （动力） to be active," said Dr. Hannah Bradwel1, Digital Health Research Fellow for UoP's GOALD project.
