Evaluating the impact of multimodal Collaborative Virtual Environments on user’s spatial knowledge and experience of gamified educational tasks

Several research projects in spatial cognition have suggested Virtual Environments (VEs) as an effective way of facilitating mental map development of a physical space. In the study reported in this paper, we evaluated the effectiveness of multimodal real-time interaction in distilling understanding of the VE after completing gamified educational tasks. We also measure the impact of these design elements on the user’s experience of educational tasks. The VE used reassembles an art gallery and it was built using REVERIE (Real and Virtual Engagement In Realistic Immersive Environment) a framework designed to enable multimodal communication on the Web. We compared the impact of REVERIE VG with an educational platform called Edu-Simulation for the same gamified educational tasks. We found that the multimodal VE had no impact on the ability of students to retain a mental model of the virtual space. However, we also found that students thought that it was easier to build a mental map of the virtual space in REVERIE VG. This means that using a multimodal CVE in a gamified educational experience does not benefit spatial performance, but also it does not cause distraction. The paper ends with future work and conclusions and suggestions for improving mental map construction and user experience in multimodal CVEs

Nonlinear surface impurity in a semi-infinite 2D square lattice

We examine the formation of localized states on a generalized nonlinear impurity located at, or near the surface of a semi-infinite 2D square lattice. Using the formalism of lattice Green functions, we obtain in closed form the number of bound states as well as their energies and probability profiles, for different nonlinearity parameter values and nonlinearity exponents, at different distances from the surface. We specialize to two cases: impurity close to an "edge" and impurity close to a "corner". We find that, unlike the case of a 1D semi-infinite lattice, in 2D, the presence of the surface helps the formation of a localized state.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, submitted to PR

A self-adapting latency/power tradeoff model for replicated search engines

For many search settings, distributed/replicated search engines deploy a large number of machines to ensure efficient retrieval. This paper investigates how the power consumption of a replicated search engine can be automatically reduced when the system has low contention, without compromising its efficiency. We propose a novel self-adapting model to analyse the trade-off between latency and power consumption for distributed search engines. When query volumes are high and there is contention for the resources, the model automatically increases the necessary number of active machines in the system to maintain acceptable query response times. On the other hand, when the load of the system is low and the queries can be served easily, the model is able to reduce the number of active machines, leading to power savings. The model bases its decisions on examining the current and historical query loads of the search engine. Our proposal is formulated as a general dynamic decision problem, which can be quickly solved by dynamic programming in response to changing query loads. Thorough experiments are conducted to validate the usefulness of the proposed adaptive model using historical Web search traffic submitted to a commercial search engine. Our results show that our proposed self-adapting model can achieve an energy saving of 33% while only degrading mean query completion time by 10 ms compared to a baseline that provisions replicas based on a previous day's traffic

An expert review of REVERIE and its potential for game-based learning

REVERIE (REal and Virtual Engagement in Realistic Immersive Environments) is a research project with the aim to build a safe, collaborative, online environment which brings together realistic inter-personal communication and interaction. The REVERIE platform integrates cutting-edge technologies and tools, such as social networking services, spatial audio adaptation techniques, tools for creating personalized lookalike avatars, and artificial intelligence (A.I) detection features of the user’s affective state into two distinct use cases. The first shows how REVERIE can be used in educational environments with an emphasis on social networking and learning. The second aims to emulate the look and feel of real physical presence and interaction for entertainment and collaborative purposes. This paper presents an expert evaluation of the first use case by potential users of REVERIE (teachers and students). Finally, the potential of REVERIE for game-based learning is discussed and follow this with an overview of the actionable recommendations that emerged as a result of the expert review

The impact of multimodal collaborative virtual environments on learning: A gamified online debate

Online learning platforms are integrated systems designed to provide students and teachers with information, tools and resources to facilitate and enhance the delivery and management of learning. In recent years platform designers have introduced gamification and multimodal interaction as ways to make online courses more engaging and immersive. Current Web-based platforms provide a limited degree of immersion in learning experiences, thereby diminishing potential learning impact. To improve immersion, it is necessary to stimulate some or all the human senses by engaging users in an environment that perceptually surrounds them and allows intuitive and rich interaction with other users and its content. Learning in these collaborative virtual environments (CVEs) can be aided by increasing motivation and engagement through the gamification of the educational task. This rich interaction that combines multimodal stimulation and gamification of the learning experience has the potential to draw students into the learning experience and improve learning outcomes. This paper presents the results of an experimental study designed to evaluate the impact of multimodal real-time interaction on user experience and learning of gamified educational tasks completed in a CVE. Secondary school teachers and students participated in the study. The multimodal CVE is an accurate reconstruction of the European Parliament in Brussels, developed using the REVERIE (Real and Virtual Engagement In Realistic Immersive Environment) framework. In the study, we compared the impact of the VR parliament to a non-multimodal control (an educational platform called Edu-Simulation) for the same educational tasks. Our results show that the multimodal CVE improves student learning performance and aspects of subjective experience when compared to the non-multimodal control. More specifically it resulted in a more positive effect on the ability of the students to generate ideas compared to a non-multimodal control. It also facilitated a sense of presence (strong emotional and a degree of spatial) for students in the VE. The paper concludes with a discussion of future work that focusses on combining the best features of both systems in a hybrid system to increase its educational impact and evaluate the prototype in real-world educational scenarios

Using serious games for learning sign language combining video, enhanced interactivity and VR technology

One in every six persons in the UK suffers a hearing loss, either as a condition they have been born with or they disordered they acquired during their life. 900,000 people in the UK are severely or profoundly deaf and based on a study by Action On Hearing Loss UK in 2013 only 17 percent of this population, can use the British Sign Language (BSL). That leaves a massive proportion of people with a hearing impediment who do not use sign language struggling in social interaction and suffering from emotional distress, and an even larger proportion of Hearing people who cannot communicate with those of the deaf community. This paper presents a serious game (SG) that aims to close the communication gap between able hearing people and people with a hearing impediment by providing a tool that facilitates BSL learning targeting adult population. The paper presents the theoretical framework supporting adult learning based on which a SG game using Virtual Reality (VR) technology has been developed. It explains the experimental framework of the study and presents the creation of the research instruments to facilitate the study comprising of a SG that integrates video and conventional video based educational material. It reports and analyses the study results that demonstrate the advantage of the SG in effectively supporting users learning a set of BSL signs and it presents qualitative outcomes that inform the further development of the game to serve learning needs. The paper closes with conclusions, directions for further development of this educational resource and future studies

Engaging immersive video consumers: Challenges regarding 360-degree gamified video applications

360-degree videos is a new medium that has gained the attention of the research community imposing challenges for creating more interactive and engaging immersive experiences. The purpose of this study is to introduce a set of technical and design challenges for interactive, gamified 360-degree mixed reality applications that immerse and engage users. The development of gamified applications refers to the merely incorporation of game elements in the interaction design process to attract and engage the user through playful interaction with the virtual world. The study presents experiments with the incorporation of series of game elements such as time pressure challenges, badges and user levels, storytelling narrative and immediate visual feedback to the interaction design logic of a mixed reality mobile gaming application that runs in an environment composed of 360-degree video and 3D computer generated objects. In the present study, the architecture and overall process for creating such an application is being presented along with a list of design implications and constraints. The paper concludes with future directions and conclusions on improving the level of immersion and engagement of 360-degree video consumers

Affective Communication between ECAs and Users in Collaborative Virtual Environments: The REVERIE European Parliament Use Case

This paper discusses the enactment and evaluation of Embodied Conversational Agents (ECA) capable of affective communication in Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVE) for learning. The CVE discussed is a reconstruction of the European Parliament in Brussels developed using the REVERIE (Real and Virtual Engagement In Realistic Immersive Environment) framework. REVERIE is a framework designed to support the creation of CVEs populated by ECAs capable of natural human-like behaviour, physical interaction and engagement. The ECA provides a tour of the virtual parliament and participates in the learning activity as an intervention mechanism to engage students. The ECA is capable of immediacy behaviour (verbal and non-verbal) and interactions to support a dialogic learning scenario. The design of the ECA is grounded on a theoretical framework that addresses the required characteristics of the ECA to successfully support collaborative learning. In this paper, we discuss the Heuristic Evaluation of the REVERIE ECA which revealed a wealth of usability problems that led to the development of a list of design recommendations to improve their usability, including its immediacy behaviours and interactions. An ECA capable of effectively creating rapport should result in more positive experiences for participants and better learning results for students in dialogic learning scenarios. Future work aims to evaluate this hypothesis in real-world scenarios with teachers and students participating in a shared virtual educational experienc

Momentum average approximation for models with boson-modulated hopping: Role of closed loops in the dynamical generation of a finite quasiparticle mass

We generalize the momentum average approximation to study the properties of single polarons in models with boson affected hopping, where the fermion-boson scattering depends explicitly on both the fermion's and the boson's momentum. As a specific example, we investigate the Edwards fermion-boson model in both one and two dimensions. In one dimension, this allows us to compare our results with exact diagonalization results, to validate the accuracy of our approximation. The generalization to two-dimensional lattices allows us to calculate the polaron's quasiparticle weight and dispersion throughout the Brillouin zone and to demonstrate the importance of Trugman loops in generating a finite effective mass even when the free fermion has an infinite mass.Comment: 15 pages, 14 figure

Mono-parametric quantum charge pumping: interplay between spatial interference and photon-assisted tunneling

We analyze quantum charge pumping in an open ring with a dot embedded in one of its arms. We show that cyclic driving of the dot levels by a \textit{single} parameter leads to a pumped current when a static magnetic flux is simultaneously applied to the ring. Based on the computation of the Floquet-Green's functions, we show that for low driving frequencies $\omega_0$, the interplay between the spatial interference through the ring plus photon-assisted tunneling gives an average direct current (dc) which is proportional to $\omega_0^{2}$. The direction of the pumped current can be reversed by changing the applied magnetic field.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. To appear in Phys. Rev.