They’re living in a virtual world

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/12/2019 (2325 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Project Whitecard, a leading developer of virtual reality (VR), serious games, and interactive applications, is where out-of-this-world experiences are created and then activated using digital media.

Located on Corydon Avenue, the nine-member team works in an open space where everybody has input.

“Every once in a while, and now more often than not, we get a peek into a larger universe, and it’s not fun without good people along for the ride,” said founder and chief executive officer of Project Whitecard, Khal Shariff, who is also the creative lead and signatory on two Space Act Agreements with NASA, and project lead on several award-winning games.

“We try to improve what we do every day; we’d like to reach as many people as possible, and you don’t get to do that without honest hard work and good work relationships,” he added.

DoVille, one of the company’s current creations, is a groundbreaking VR application crafted specifically with the hope of having a positive effect on cognition.

“DoVille is a Virtual Reality (VR) application with proven efficacy to stimulate the hippocampus area of the brain where memory is controlled. The DoVille experience is fun, easy to use and entertaining. The participant is taken on a virtual journey back in time to happy places including visiting a beach and an amusement park,” explained manager of projects and business affairs Dwayne Rudy.

Brightwater Senior Living is the first to hold the VR scientific trials for residents with an interest in learning more about the fun-filled DoVille experience, giving them an opportunity to explore an innovative user-friendly technology.

Participants can choose from a variety of activities including everything from downhill skiing, to going on a dinosaur safari without ever leaving the comforts of home.

With an estimated 44 million people affected by dementia or Alzheimer’s disease worldwide, there is increasing awareness of these conditions and urgency in finding effective treatments and therapies to prevent or stall the progression.

DoVille builds on the team’s work with interactive VR and has engaged scientists over the last year to provide direction. The team is confident that they are at the forefront of shaping VR’s effects to facilitate an increase in hippocampal brain volume.

“We believe game-technology experiences can be about more than depictions of violence, and so we pick projects that we hope will make the digital world a better place,” said Rudy.

“Putting your skills to use to try to help others is a rocky hard path, but ultimately the most rewarding. I can’t think of anything more rewarding than making virtual reality for older adults,” added Shariff.

For more information, visit: projectwhitecard.com and doville.fun