AUTHOR=Medarević Jelena , Miljković Nadica , Stojmenova Pečečnik Kristina , Sodnik Jaka 

TITLE=Distress detection in VR environment using Empatica E4 wristband and Bittium Faros 360

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology

VOLUME=Volume 16 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2025.1480018

DOI=10.3389/fphys.2025.1480018

ISSN=1664-042X

ABSTRACT=IntroductionDistress detection in virtual reality systems offers a wealth of opportunities to improve user experiences and enhance therapeutic practices by catering to individual physiological and emotional states.MethodsThis study evaluates the performance of two wearable devices, the Empatica E4 wristband and the Faros 360, in detecting distress in a motion-controlled interactive virtual reality environment. Subjects were exposed to a baseline measurement and two VR scenes, one non-interactive and one interactive, involving problem-solving and distractors. Heart rate measurements from both devices, including mean heart rate, root mean square of successive differences, and subject-specific thresholds, were utilized to explore distress intensity and frequency.ResultsBoth the Faros and E4 sensors adequately captured physiological signals, with Faros demonstrating a higher signal-to-noise ratio and consistency. While correlation coefficients were moderately positive between Faros and E4 data, indicating a linear relationship, small mean absolute error and root mean square error values suggested good agreement in measuring heart rate. Analysis of distress occurrence during the interactive scene revealed that both devices detect more high- and medium-level distress occurrences compared to the non-interactive scene.DiscussionDevice-specific factors in distress detection were emphasized due to differences in detected distress events between devices.