At the Belle Viste nursing home, in Saint-Gély-du-Fesc (Hérault), near Montpellier, residents fly to Iceland or Malaysia. Without leaving their establishment. Thanks to the Montpellier start-up Feel U, it is with virtual reality headsets that these grannies and grandpas go on a spree. The elderly are “amazed, fascinated to be on an armchair, in their room, and to travel to the other side of the world, smiles Cyrile, one of the facilitators of this Hérault nursing home. It awakens memories, or it awakens travel desires”.
Originally, it was a completely different project that animated this young company from Montpellier: it immersed itself, in caravans whose windows had been replaced by screens, in pretty panoramas, in Saint-Guilhem-le-désert or the other end of the world. “We had more and more requests, confides David Verrière, the co-founder and technical director of Feel U. But a caravan is not easily deployable. So we got interested in virtual reality. »
“The benefit sought is speech”
She has developed solutions that are easy to handle for facilitators or caregivers in retirement homes, which provide residents with experiences that they would probably not have been able to have otherwise. Feel U has developed a homemade catalog, renewed every month, of several dozen immersive journeys. Some of which are commented. Underwater walks in Malaysia, at Mont Saint-Michel, in the Gorges du Tarn or on the Canal du Midi. Or more unique experiences, such as a visit to the kitchens of starred chef Jérôme Nutile from Nîmes, paragliding, a short tour with sled dogs, on a paddle, or even a hot air balloon ride.
“The benefit sought is speech,” continues the co-founder of the start-up. People find themselves in known settings, or that they discover. Once they take off the helmet, they will start talking. Positive topics. The goal is to break the gloom, to make them do things they don’t do. “It reduces anxiety, stress, loneliness, notes David Verrière. The retirement home can even completely immerse its residents in a universe, by offering, in addition to a virtual reality trip to Iceland, “to eat fish at the restaurant, to discover information on the geology of the country, etc., to stimulate other senses, and promote exchanges”, smiles the co-founder of the company.
“These are not things that will surprise or make people uncomfortable”
These stories, however, were created specifically for an older audience. No question of taking Grandma and Grandpa into a roller coaster or being chased by dinosaurs. “These are not things that will surprise or make people uncomfortable, of course, notes the entrepreneur. The camera is placed at the height of a person in a wheelchair, so that there is no feeling of vertigo. There are no bright flashes, no negative talk. These are always positive immersions. »
And often, memories come flooding back. “I remember Jeannette, who is 95 years old, to whom we showed Mont-Aigoual in December, smiles David Verrière. And as she lived in Lozère, she remembered snowball fights with her brother. She told us that she was going strong! The start-up also offers its device in protected units, to people with Alzheimer’s disease. “Some residents, who suffer from cognitive disorders, speak as if they were there during the experience, explains Cyrile, animator at the Belle Viste nursing home. There’s a trip on a Bateau-Mouche, they say “Hey, it’s sunny”, or “There’s a lot of people”. “Feel U is also beginning to rejuvenate its public a little, by intervening with hospitals for children or adolescents and homes for people with disabilities.