  Numerous children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) exhibit
abnormal eye gaze pattern in communication and social interaction. Due to the
high cost of ASD interventions and a shortage of professional therapists,
researchers have explored the use of virtual reality (VR) systems as a
supplementary intervention for autistic children. This paper presents the
design of a novel VR-based system called the Hide and Seek Virtual Reality
System (HSVRS). The HSVRS allows children with ASD to enhance their ocular gaze
abilities while engaging in a hide-and-seek game with a virtual avatar. By
employing face and voice manipulation technology, the HSVRS provides the option
to customize the appearance and voice of the avatar, making it resemble someone
familiar to the child, such as their parents. We conducted a pilot study at the
Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, China, to evaluate the
feasibility of HSVRS as an auxiliary intervention for children with autism
(N=24). Through the analysis of subjective questionnaires completed by the
participants' parents and objective eye gaze data, we observed that children in
the VR-assisted intervention group demonstrated better performance compared to
those in the control group. Furthermore, our findings indicate that the
utilization of face and voice manipulation techniques to personalize avatars in
hide-and-seek games can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the system.
