First-year students leverage AI technology to prevent falls for virtual reality users

First-year students leverage AI technology to prevent falls for virtual reality users KENNESAW, Ga. | Apr 2, 2026 Caleb Tran and Joshua Hentz As virtual reality technology continues to grow, two Kennesaw State University first-year students are working to make it safer. At the center of their work is an artificial intelligence system that can predict and prevent dangerous falls. Through the Office of Research’s First-Year Scholars Program, computer science major Joshua Hentz of Chickamauga, Georgia, and software engineering major Caleb Tran of Suwanee, Georgia, are gaining early hands-on research experience through the Fallguard project in Kennesaw State’s College of Computing and Software Engineering. The duo is working under the purview of mentor M. Rasel Mahmud, assistant professor of computer science and the project’s principal investigator. Fallguard is designed to address a critical challenge in virtual reality, helping users maintain balance while immersed in a digital environment. The system combines motion sensors, artificial intelligence, and 3D virtual modeling to track how a user moves while wearing a VR headset. By studying how a person moves and maintains stability over time, the technology can identify when a user is approaching a loss of balance. “In simple terms, it’s an AI that predicts when you are about to fall and gives you advice to avoid it,” Hentz said.  As users move within a virtual environment, Fallguard continuously processes real-time data from...