Modelo de un entorno virtual inteligente basado en la percepción y el razonamiento de sus elementos con un personaje para la generación de realismo

Los Entornos Virtuales Inteligentes (EVI) están compuestos por la unión de elementos tomados de dos importantes áreas de la computación como son la Realidad Virtual y la Inteligencia Artificial, las cuales tienen múltiples aplicaciones en diferentes campos de investigación. A su vez, un EVI debe estar compuesto por los siguientes niveles: geométrico, cinemático, cognitivo y comportamental. Las limitaciones en un EVI se observan en el realismo que se obtiene a través de las sensaciones que emula el computador y que son percibidas por el usuario a través de sus sentidos. Dicho realismo, recae también, en el comportamiento e interacción con los elementos de un Entorno Virtual (percepción y razonamiento), necesario en aplicaciones de interés científico, de tipo militar, entrenamientos en medicina, en la preservación de patrimonio cultural, en la educación, en los videojuegos, entre otras. En esta tesis se propone un modelo de Entorno Virtual Inteligente, que basado en la percepción y el razonamiento de sus elementos con un personaje, permita generar realismo. Para alcanzar este objetivo, se propone inicialmente un modelo geométrico y cinemático como base necesaria para el modelo de Entorno Virtual Inteligente y con ello, incrementar el desempeño del EVI en los niveles comportamental y cognitivo. En estos niveles, se implementan posteriormente, diferentes técnicas de Inteligencia Artificial aplicadas a la percepción y el razonamiento y después de comparaciones a través de diferentes métricas, se escoge la Red Neuronal Artificial que es en la que se apoya principalmente el modelo. A lo largo del desarrollo de la tesis se realizó un trabajo experimental, que valida que el modelo propuesto funciona flexible y adecuadamente, independiente del área de aplicación.Abstract: Intelligent Virtual Environments (IVE) are composed by the union of elements taken from two important areas of computing, as such the Virtual Reality and the Artificial Intelligence, which have multiple applications in various research fields. At the time, an IVE should be composed of the following levels: geometric, kinematic, cognitive and behavioral. The IVE limitations are observed in the realism obtained through of the senses that a computer emulate and the user perceives these sensations through your senses. That realism, also falls, in the behavior and interaction with the elements of a virtual environment (perception and reasoning), realism necessary in applications of scientific interest such as; military style, training in medicine, cultural heritage, education, videogames, among others. In this thesis, a model of Intelligent Virtual Environment is proposed, which based on the perception and reasoning of its elements with a character, it can achieve realism. To achieve this goal, initially a geometric and kinematic model is proposed as a basis for the model of Intelligent Virtual Environment, and then increase performance of IVE in behavioral and cognitive levels. At these levels, subsequently are implemented, different AI techniques applied to perception and reasoning, and after comparisons across different metrics, is chosen an Artificial Neural Network to supports the model. Throughout the development of the thesis an experimental work is made, which validates that the proposed model works flexible and properly, independent of the application area.Doctorad

Towards a Design Framework for Adaptable Reconfigurable Virtual Learning Environments

Technology is giving us new ways to interact with our world and this offers us unprecedented access to knowledge. To benefit from this access, we may need new ways to interact with subject matter, and it may be helpful to match the affordances of technology to the learning affordances of our minds. One possible approach to this problem is to leverage our natural environmental awareness. Humans are a successful species because we adapt so well to our environment, and adaptation is the focus of this research, which uses computer science to design a language teaching tool. The research is intended to further the development of virtual reality teaching environments by proposing a design framework created to manage changes in a virtual world. Subsequently, a virtual world based on the framework was created, and used to teach a language concept, the English preposition “over”. A serious game created on two platforms, one PC, and the other Virtual Reality, was used to deliver the teaching challenges based on the different meanings of the preposition, and tests before and after the use of the game were used to measure improvements in learning outcomes. The PC game had both an adaptive and static environment, and the VR game had an adaptive environment. The research found that the VR game resulted in the strongest effect on learning outcomes. The VR environment challenge which used a “sorting” mechanic resulted in a statistically significant change in test scores as did the “ordering” mechanic in the PC Static environment. Both had a medium effect on scores. The research also found that the actions taken inside the environments were not affected by profile differences such as age, gender, English proficiency, or role. The test scores for the meanings “Cover”, “Excess”, and “Temporal”, all showed improvement in post-test scores, however, the effect size was small, and not likely to be significant. Further study comparing Static VR platforms with adaptive VR platforms as well as mechanic-specific research is needed

Towards MMO Intelligent Environments

Massively Multiuser Online (MMO) Computer Games arguably provide some of the best examples of large groups of users, potentially distributed all across the world, coming together to interact with each other in a single common environment. Depending upon the scenarios presented by the game designers, such user interaction may consist of countless individuals each operating with their own set of priorities and goals. Alternatively, other situations may require the collective collaboration of multiple users, each performing a role in order to achieve a larger overall objective. This paper outlines some initial research for an investigation taking inspiration from some technologies and frameworks used by MMO Computer Games, to create a new global network of distributed Intelligent Environments. This research has been performed as a part of the ongoing Scale Up project, an international collaboration between the University of Essex and King Abdulaziz University, focussing on creating smart hybrid systems to increase the functionality within Intelligent Environments