The GEARS lab is a multidisciplinary group made up of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University students and faculty. Our research efforts focus on using games and simulation to study areas related to personality, motivation, training, education, performance and teamwork.
In the GEARS Lab, games are used as a platform to study and understand human behavior. Faculty, graduate students and undergraduates work together in the lab to develop research ideas and to study these ideas using experimental methods. GEARS Lab work is grounded in psychological and human factors disciplines.
Current projects include a teamwork study using a starship bridge simulator and a study exploring empathy using different communication technologies to examine how these impact connectedness across individuals. Past projects that have been conducted in the lab include a Tank ID study using "Arma 3," a study of human relatedness utilizing "Portal 2," and a team interaction study utilizing the puzzle game "Don’t Stop Talking and Nobody Explodes." In addition, lab members have developed a
psychometrically validated tool to measure “enjoyment”
Equipment
- Virtual reality systems: Vive, Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear headset
- 6 Networked gaming computers
- 2 control stations
- iPads
- 2 robotic systems that provide a mechanism to study distributed interactions
