Incorporating human behavior in VR compartmental simulation models

A novel strand of Coronavirus has affected a large number of individuals worldwide, putting a considerable stress to national health services and causing many deaths. Many control measures have been put in place across different countries with the aim to save lives at the cost of personal freedom. Computer simulations have played a role in providing policy makers with critical information about the virus. However, despite their importance in applied epidemiology, general simulation models, are difficult to validate because of how hard it is to predict and model human behavior. To this end, we propose a different approach by developing a virtual reality (VR) multi-agent virus propagation system where a group of agents interact with the user in a university setting. We created a VR digital twin replica of a building in the University of Derby campus, to enhance the user’s immersion in our study. Our work integrates human behavior seamlessly in a simulation model and we believe that this approach is crucial to have a deeper understanding on how to control the spread of a virus such as COVID-19.