Validation study of two distinct electrodermal activity sensors in Virtual Reality
Additional information
Type of assignment: BSc. thesis
How many students? 1
Supervision: Individually
Includes data collection? Yes
Type of research: Quantitative - Experimental
Number of ECTS? 15 ECTS
Research assignment
Monitoring the physiological stress response in daily life through the use of wearable devices remains challenging. Next to cardiovascular parameters, electrodermal activity (EDA) is becoming more commonly used as a measure of stress and is now starting to get implemented in commercial wearables. However, this technology differs greatly from the gold standard EDA measurement and its validity remains unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study is to create and implement a Virtual Reality validation protocol in which such a wearable will be tested against an ambulatory gold standard reference device and a lab based reference device. Another, yet just as important goal of this study is comparing the signals obtained from the two reference devices. Within this project you will be able to quickly develop both your theoretical knowledge on physiology of stress, as well as research- and technical skills that are needed to validate wearable devices through the use of VR.
Who do we look for?
We are looking for an enthusiastic student with an interest in physiology of stress and technology used to measure stress in daily life, such as smartwatches. The stress test will be conducted through the use of Virtual Reality. Therefore, willingness to work with VR as a potential tool for stress induction is needed for this project. There is also a master student working on this project so this will offer opportunities for collaboration and mutual support.
References
Posada-Quintero, H. F., & Chon, K. H. (2020). Innovations in Electrodermal Activity Data Collection and Signal Processing: A Systematic Review. Sensors (Basel), 20(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/s20020479
van Lier, H. G., Pieterse, M. E., Garde, A., Postel, M. G., de Haan, H. A., Vollenbroek-Hutten, M. M. R., Schraagen, J. M., & Noordzij, M. L. (2020). A standardized validity assessment protocol for physiological signals from wearable technology: Methodological underpinnings and an application to the E4 biosensor. Behav Res Methods, 52(2), 607-629. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-019-01263-9