Virtual reality puts telepathy to the test
July 2006Researchers from the schools of Psychological Sciences and Computer Science have created a virtual computer world, to test telepathic ability.
The system, which immerses users in what looks like a life-sized computer game, aims to test whether telepathy exists between pairs of volunteers. These could be friends, colleagues or relatives, with the project also investigating whether their relationship influences their telepathic abilities.
Computer-generated world
The participants are placed in rooms on different floors of the same building to eliminate any possibility of communication, before donning a head-mounted 3D display and electronic glove. These allow them to navigate the computer-generated world and view a random selection of computer-generated objects, including a telephone, a football and an umbrella.The person in the first room sees one object at a time, which they are asked to concentrate on and interact with in the virtual environment. The person in the other room is simultaneously presented with the same object plus three decoy objects, and asked to select the one they believe the other participant is trying to transmit to them.
Objective study
The system was designed by Dr Craig Murray of the School of Psychological Sciences, and implemented by Toby Howard and Dr Fabrice Caillette from the School of Computer Science.Toby said: "This system has been designed to overcome the pitfalls evident in previous studies, which could easily be manipulated to produce an effect which looks like telepathy but is not. We are creating a completely objective environment which makes it impossible for participants to leave signals or even unconscious clues as to which object they have chosen."
Project researcher David Wilde, of the School of Psychological Sciences, said: "By using this technology we aim to provide the most objective study of telepathy to date. Our aim is not to prove or disprove its existence but to create an experimental method which stands up to scientific scrutiny."
Around 100 people are taking part in the experiment, with results expected early in 2007.
