And the trial is seeing positive results!
Having a fear of heights is no small matter.
The official term for it is acrophobia.
Whether it's up some windy stairs or travelling in a plane, the fear of heights is a common enough one.
Well, there may be a solution.
Researchers from the University of Basel have developed a virtual reality app for smartphones to reduce fear of heights.
And they've also carried out a clinical trial to study how effective it is.
Trial participants who spent a total of four hours training with the app at home showed an improvement in their ability to handle real height situations!
A research team has developed a smartphone-based virtual reality exposure therapy app called Easyheights.
It uses 360° images of real locations, and people use the app alongside a special virtual reality headset.
During the virtual experience, the user stands on a platform that starts off one metre above the ground.
After a certain amount of time, the platform automatically rises in line with how the person has gotten used to the height.
So, essentially. the perceived distance above the ground increases slowly but steadily based on each individual.
A trial found that the app benefitted people as much as conventional exposure therapy!
