The Virtual Immersive Behavioral Sciences (VIBES) Lab is a cutting-edge collaborative research initiative at Baldwin Wallace University, bringing together students from:
- 🧠 Psychology Department
- 🔬 Neuroscience Department
- 💻 Computer Science Department
We develop high-fidelity VR experimental environments that enable researchers to investigate psychological and neuroscientific phenomena in controlled, immersive settings with precise measurement and analysis of behavioral and visual responses.
Immersive virtual worlds built in Unity using professional asset packs for maximum ecological validity.
- HTC VIVE Pro Eye with Tobii integration
- High-resolution gaze and head-tracking via Custom Scripts & SRanipal + SimpleOmnia
- Real-time data collection and synchronization
Powerful suite by Justin Kasowski that streamlines:
- Data collection workflows
- Event timing precision
- VR interaction logging
For Project 1, participants engage in a single integrated experimental environment that allows researchers to examine:
- Development of emotional responses to aversive stimuli
- Reduction or modulation of emotional responses over time
- Patterns of visual attention and behavioral reactions during these experiences
Python-based toolkit for:
- Gaze data mapping onto virtual environments
- Fixation and saccade pattern extraction
- Behavioral response visualization across trials
Access our online tool: VIBES Lab CSV Formatter
The VIBES Lab supports two major eye-tracking configurations:
Tobii-powered eye tracking integrated into the HMD, accessed through:
- SRanipal SDK for real-time gaze data
- SimpleOmnia for synchronized event tracking
Captured Data:
- Gaze origin & direction vectors
- Combined & per-eye tracking
- Eye openness metrics
- Pupil diameter
- Blink detection
- Game Object being looked at
Support for standalone Tobii devices:
- All Tobii Eye Trackers
- Verified on Tobii Nano
Captured Data:
- Gaze origin & direction vectors
- Combined & per-eye tracking
- Pupil diameter
- Game Object being looked at
Note: Tobii External Eye Trackers support is available only in the latest stable release. Please contact for code.
| Component | Technology |
|---|---|
| Game Engine | Unity 2023.1.5f1 |
| VR Hardware | HTC VIVE Pro Eye |
| Flat Panel | Tobii Nano |
| Data Collection | SimpleOmnia |
| SDKs | SteamVR, SRanipal, Tobii |
| Programming | C#, Python |
| Analysis | Python (Pandas, Matplotlib) |
- Unity 2023.1.5f1 or newer
- HTC VIVE Pro Eye or compatible Tobii device
- SteamVR installed and configured
- Git installed on your system
git clone https://github.com/JohnBacho/VIBES-LAB-Project1.git
cd VIBES-LAB-Project1- Open Unity Hub and add the project
- Ensure Unity 2023.1.5f1 is installed
- Open the project and wait for initial import
- Download SteamVR
- Follow SimpleOmnia installation instructions (included in project)
- Install SRanipal SDK (included in project)
- Install SRanipal runtime to calibrate VR eye tracking
- Download the latest stable release from the Releases page
- Ensure tobii device is connected and recognized
- Run the demo scene in Unity
- Check console for successful SDK initialization
- Verify eye-tracking data is being recorded
For detailed documentation, please visit our Wiki.
We welcome contributions from the research community! Please see our Contributing Guidelines for more information.
| Name | Major |
|---|---|
| Dr. Brian Thomas | Professor of Psycology |
| John Bacho | Computer Science |
| Lauren Dunlap | Computer Science |
| Albert Selby | Computer Science / Data Science |
| Marissa Brigger | Neuroscience |
| Alexa Gossett | Neuroscience / Psychology |
| Jace Lander | Software Engineer |
- Justin Kasowski – Creator of SimpleOmnia
- Unity Asset Store – For high-quality 3D environmental assets
- Baldwin Wallace University – For institutional support and resources
- HTC Vive & Tobii – For technical documentation and SDK support
This project is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Includes SimpleOmnia by Justin Kasowski, licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.
For more details, see: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
For questions, collaborations, or support:
- Email: jbacho22@bw.edu
- Email bthomas@bw.edu
- Issues: GitHub Issues
Made with ❤️ by the VIBES Lab Team