1,075 research outputs found

    The Virtual University and Avatar Technology: E-learning Through Future Technology

    Get PDF
    E-learning gains increasingly importance in academic education. Beyond present distance learning technologies a new opportunity emerges by the use of advanced avatar technology. Virtual robots acting in an environment of a virtual campus offer opportunities of advanced learning experiences. Human Machine Interaction (HMI) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) can bridge time zones and ease professional constraints of mature students. Undergraduate students may use such technology to build up topics of their studies beyond taught lectures. Objectives of the paper are to research the options, extent and limitations of avatar technology for academic studies in under- and postgraduate courses and to discuss students' potential acceptance or rejection of interaction with AI. The research method is a case study based on Sir Tony Dyson's avatar technology iBot2000. Sir Tony is a worldwide acknowledged robot specialist, creator of Star Wars' R2D2, who developed in recent years the iBot2000 technology, intelligent avatars adaptable to different environments with the availability to speak up to eight different languages and capable to provide logic answers to questions asked. This technology underwent many prototypes with the latest specific goal to offer blended E-learning entering the field of the virtual 3-D university extending Web2.0 to Web3.0 (Dyson. 2009). Sir Tony included his vast experiences gained in his personal (teaching) work with children for which he received his knighthood. The data was mainly collected through interviews with Sir Tony Dyson, which helps discover the inventor’s view on why such technology is of advantage for academic studies. Based on interviews with Sir Tony, this research critically analyses the options, richness and restrictions, which avatar (iBot2000) technology may add to academic studies. The conclusion will discuss the opportunities, which avatar technology may be able to bring to learning and teaching activities, and the foreseeable limitations – the amount of resources required and the complexity to build a fully integrated virtual 3-D campus. Key Words: virtual learning, avatar technology, iBot2000, virtual universit

    Inclusive AR-games for Education of Deaf Children: Challenges and Opportunities

    Get PDF
    Game-based learning has had a rapid development in the 21st century, attracting an increasing audience. However, inclusion of all is still not a reality in society, with accessibility for deaf and hard of hearing children as a remaining challenge. To be excluded from learning due to communication barriers can have severe consequences for further studies and work. Based on previous research Augmented Reality (AR) games can be joyful learning tools that include activities with different sign languages, but AR based learning games for deaf and hard of hearing lack research. This paper aims to present opportunities and challenges of designing inclusive AR games for education of deaf children. Methods involved conducting a scoping review of previous studies about AR for deaf people. Experts were involved as co-authors for in-depth understanding of sign languages and challenges for deaf people. A set of AR input and output techniques were analysed for appropriateness, and various AR based game mechanics were compared. Results indicate that inclusive AR gameplay for deaf people could be built on AR based image and object tracking, complemented with sign recognition. These technologies provide input from the user and the real-world environment typically via the camera to the app. Scene tracking and GPS can be used for location-based game mechanics. Output to the user can be done via local signed videos ideally, but also with images and animations. Moreover, a civic intelligence approach can be applied to overcome many of the challenges that have been identified in five dimensions for inclusion of deaf people i.e., cultural, educational, psycho-social, semantic, and multimodal. The input from trusted, educated signers and teachers can enable the connection between real world objects and signed videos to provide explanations of concepts. The conclusion is that the development of an inclusive, multi-language AR game for deaf people needs to be carried out as an international collaboration, addressing all five dimensions

    Cultural robotics : The culture of robotics and robotics in culture

    Get PDF
    Copyright 2013 Samani et al.; licensee InTech. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly citedIn this paper, we have investigated the concept of "Cultural Robotics" with regard to the evolution o social into cultural robots in the 21st Century. By defining the concept of culture, the potential development of culture between humans and robots is explored. Based on the cultural values of the robotics developers, and the learning ability of current robots, cultural attributes in this regard are in the process of being formed, which would define the new concept of cultural robotics. According to the importance of the embodiment of robots in the sense of presence, the influence of robots in communication culture is anticipated. The sustainability of robotics culture based on diversity for cultural communities for various acceptance modalities is explored in order to anticipate the creation of different attributes of culture between robot and humans in the futurePeer reviewe

    Virtual Reality and the University

    Get PDF
    It is difficult to talk meaningfully about virtual reality (VR), since there have been several types of computing technology that are given this label, and a number of differing aims ascribed to their use. The origins can be projected backwards almost indefinitely into myths and legends of other worlds, or related to twentieth century science fiction (which though seemingly prescient, in hindsight, has influenced our development, use and interpretation of present day technologies). Many still impute to such technologies quasi-mystical powers which remove us, in some ambiguous fashion, from the here-and-now, and places us somewhere else, namely the virtual. In this paper, I discuss what the adoption in UK universities over the last 15 years of educational technology, namely Virtual Learning Environments and Virtual Worlds, tells us about responses to computers, the idea of the virtual, and to what extent we can use novel educational technologies effectively in higher education

    UNDERSTANDING THE ADAPTIVE USE OF VIRTUAL WORLD TECHNOLOGY CAPABILITIES AND TRUST IN VIRTUAL TEAMS

    Get PDF
    In an environment of global competition and constant technological change, the use of virtual teams has become commonplace for many organizations. Virtual team members are geographically and temporally dispersed, experience cultural diversity, and lack shared social context and face-to-face encounters considered as irreplaceable for building and maintaining trust. Previous research has established that higher trusting teams have better cooperation and experience improved outcomes; however, trust building in a team where members are from different backgrounds, time zones and cultures is a considerable challenge. Virtual teams (VTs) rely heavily on technology to facilitate coordination, communication, and control in the team. One particular technology that has generated great interest as a viable tool in VTs is broadly referred to as metaverses. Metaverses provide unique technology capabilities that allow individuals to interact in a three-dimensional space. Unique capabilities such as visual communication among avatars, video and audio chat, and the communication of deliberate body language through gestures and other nonverbal cues may provide opportunities for VTs, particularly in relation to trust building. The broad goal of this research is to increase our understanding of the relationship between virtual team members and information technology during the development of trust. Specifically, this thesis focuses on understanding the relationship between metaverse technology capabilities and trust development between VT members by studying how technology capabilities are used and modified to shape trust in general and interpersonal trust in particular
    corecore