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Adaptive Virtual Assistant for Virtual Reality-based Remote Learning

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Conference

2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Minneapolis, MN

Publication Date

August 23, 2022

Start Date

June 26, 2022

End Date

June 29, 2022

Conference Session

Computers in Education 8 - Video Technology

Page Count

15

DOI

10.18260/1-2--41234

Permanent URL

https://strategy.asee.org/41234

Download Count

659

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Paper Authors

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Hannah Sloan University of Calgary

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Richard Zhao University of Calgary Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0001-8257-4291

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Dr. Richard Zhao is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Calgary and the principal investigator on this research. He leads the serious games research group, focusing on games for training and education where he utilizes artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and eye-tracking technologies. He received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Computing Science from the University of Alberta. Dr. Zhao has served as a program committee member on academic conferences such as the International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games (FDG), the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment (AIIDE), and the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE) Technical Symposium.

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Faisal Aqlan Pennsylvania State University, Behrend College

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Dr. Faisal Aqlan is an Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering and Director of the Master of Engineering in Engineering Management Programs at the University of Louisville. He received his Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Binghamton University in 2013. He is a Senior Member of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE), and currently serves as the IISE Vice President of Student Development, and holds a seat on the IISE Board of Trustees. Aqlan’s research interests are in system simulation and automation, process improvement, engineering education, and sensor-based virtual reality for manufacturing and healthcare applications. He is currently a PI on multiple NSF grants.

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Hui Yang Pennsylvania State University

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Rui Zhu

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Abstract

This research describes the development of an adaptive virtual assistant in an immersive virtual reality (VR) serious game aimed at teaching engineering students manufacturing concepts. For undergraduate manufacturing education, students need to learn product design and manufacturing systems that require well-coordinated analysis of requirements and hands-on practices in complex manufacturing assembly lines. While it is often not feasible and practical for students to participate in real factory environments, simulations are created to offer a flexible alternative of digital learning. With the advancements in immersive technologies, VR opens new opportunities for teaching and learning manufacturing, and enables remote learning from any physical location. In this research, we describe the elements of a serious game built using the Unity game engine with VR technology that allows students to practice the concept of craft production.

Prior research has shown that adapting learning material to suit individual student needs increases motivation and student successes. While learning remotely using an immersive virtual environment, a student is often working in an independent manner. Seeking help often requires the student to leave the virtual environment and break immersion. In this research, we propose an adaptive virtual assistant in the game environment to support the student learning process. By tracking student actions in the game environment and building a model of the student using reinforcement learning, the virtual assistant can learn and adapt to the student’s preference in the types of assistance to provide. We show the adaptation of the virtual assistant through simulated experiments of typical student preferences.

Sloan, H., & Zhao, R., & Aqlan, F., & Yang, H., & Zhu, R. (2022, August), Adaptive Virtual Assistant for Virtual Reality-based Remote Learning Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41234

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