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We present a virtual reality (VR) environment featuring conversational avatars powered by a locally-deployed LLM, integrated with automatic speech recognition (ASR), text-to-speech (TTS), and lip-syncing. Through a pilot study, we explored…
As robotics continues to advance, the need for adaptive and continuously-learning embodied agents increases, particularly in the realm of assistance robotics. Quick adaptability and long-term information retention are essential to operate…
Human perception and behavior are affected by the situational context, in particular during social interactions. A recent study demonstrated that humans perceive visual stimuli differently depending on whether they do the task by themselves…
Increasing advances in affordable consumer hardware and accessible software frameworks are now bringing Virtual Reality (VR) to the masses. Especially collaborative VR applications where different people can work together are gaining…
Despite growing interest in virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) for mental well-being, prior work using immersive interventions to teach mental health skills has largely focused on calming or abstract settings. As a result, little is…
Language barriers in virtual meetings remain a persistent challenge to global collaboration. Real-time translation offers promise, yet current integrations often neglect perceptual cues. This study investigates how spatial audio rendering…
The widespread use of generative AI has led to multiple applications of AI-generated text and media to potentially enhance learning outcomes. However, there are a limited number of well-designed experimental studies investigating the impact…
Millions of people have seen their daily habits transform, reducing physical activity and leading to mental health issues. This study explores how virtual characters impact motivation for well-being. Three prototypes with cartoon, robotic,…
Virtual Reality (VR) has repeatedly proven its effectiveness in student learning. However, despite its benefits, the student equipped with a personal headset remains isolated from the real world while immersed in a virtual space and the…
Clinical psychology students frequently report feeling underprepared for the interpersonal demands of therapeutic work, highlighting the need for accessible opportunities to practise core counselling skills before seeing real clients.…
Humans and animals show remarkable learning efficiency, adapting to new environments with minimal experience. This capability is not well captured by standard reinforcement learning algorithms that rely on incremental value updates. Rapid…
Avatar customization is known to positively affect crucial outcomes in numerous domains. However, it is unknown whether audial customization can confer the same benefits as visual customization. We conducted a preregistered 2 x 2 (visual…
Multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) extends (single-agent) reinforcement learning (RL) by introducing additional agents and (potentially) partial observability of the environment. Consequently, algorithms for solving MARL problems…
In exhibition hybrid spaces, scale consistency between real and virtual spaces is crucial for user immersion. However, there is currently a lack of systematic research to determine appropriate virtual-to-real mapping ratios. This study…
A key challenge in reward learning from human input is that desired agent behavior often changes based on context. For example, a robot must adapt to avoid a stove once it becomes hot. We observe that while high-level preferences (e.g.,…
An increasing number of studies in physics education research use social network analysis to quantify interactions among students. These studies typically gather data through online surveys using one of two different survey formats:…
Much of the current work on reinforcement learning studies episodic settings, where the agent is reset between trials to an initial state distribution, often with well-shaped reward functions. Non-episodic settings, where the agent must…
Social learning is a key component of human and animal intelligence. By taking cues from the behavior of experts in their environment, social learners can acquire sophisticated behavior and rapidly adapt to new circumstances. This paper…
This study investigates the potential of virtual reality (VR) for enhancing sales skills training using a Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE). VR technology enables users to practice interpersonal and negotiation skills in controlled,…
Although the use of technologies like multimedia and virtual reality (VR) in training offer the promise of improved learning, these richer and potentially more engaging materials do not consistently produce superior learning outcomes.…