NSERC CRD Award: Cloud-based Stress and Engagement Assessment in VR

Dr. Naimul Khan (principal investigator), Dr. Ling Guan, and Dr. Sridhar Krishnan have received a $450,000 NSERC Collaborative Research and Development Grant in partnership with Shaftesbury Inc.

The project, titled “Cloud-based Machine Learning Framework for Assessment of Stress/Engagement Through Multimodal Sensors”, will develop machine learning and signal processing algorithms to assess stress and engagement levels within VR applications. The assessment results will be used to dynamically adjust game content in real time — with applications in:

• Clinical settings: non-pharmacological anxiety reduction before surgery
• Entertainment: dynamic content adaptation for personalized gaming experiences