-Experiment registers behavioural reactions-

OSAKA, Aug. 4, 2025/ANSA=Kyodo JBN/ --

 Developing the use of virtual reality to register behavioural reactions is the aim of a project and a research developed by EY in cooperation with Rome’s Sapienza University and the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) which was showcased at the Italy Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka.

The experiment includes two main parts, two tasks to be carried out within a virtual environment.

After the first questions necessary for targeting purposes, participants are asked to regulate their distance from another person, another avatar, letting them decide how close they can get until they find the most comfortable distance.

The second part is a game of association during which participants need to categorize as quickly as possible a number of words and images.

Salvatore Maria Aglioti, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at Sapienza University, explained that the experiment investigates “how much we let others get close to us, thus the general concept of proxemics, knowing that we accept to be in close proximity to people with whom we have a relationship”.

In the real world, stressed Aglioti, “we allow people we perceive as similar to us to get close” and “virtual reality allows to transfer in an experimentally controlled way this type of approach”

The project taken to Japan, which also saw the participation of IIT researcher Althea Frisanco and Sapienza researcher Matteo Lisi, was set for the somatic features of Asian or Caucasian people, although in general the reactions of all different ethnic groups are investigated.

“We are very proud to be at Expo in Osaka as partners of the Italy Pavilion”, stressed Giuseppe Perrone, EY partner, who was also in charge of the Italy Pavilion’s virtual Expo together with Almaviva.

“We think technologies can accelerate the virtuous path constituted by the values which this pavilion intends to promote worldwide”, stated Perrone.

He added that “what we did was to add a series of technologies, virtual reality, augmented reality, the ability to combine artificial intelligence with neuroscience today”.

EY manager Ivan Perrone was present at the Italy Pavilion.

EY will also be the protagonist of an event to be held at the Italy Pavilion on August 6 at 11 am Japanese time during the panel discussion ‘Beyond reality: understanding interpersonal space in VR at the Italy Pavilion’.

Source: General Commissioner’s Office of Italy for Expo 2025 Osaka