| Project/Area Number |
22K02949
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Review Section |
Basic Section 09080:Science education-related
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| Research Institution | Future University-Hakodate |
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Principal Investigator |
Vallance Michael 公立はこだて未来大学, システム情報科学部, 教授 (00423781)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2022-04-01 – 2025-03-31
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| Project Status |
Granted (Fiscal Year 2023)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥2,470,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥570,000)
Fiscal Year 2024: ¥260,000 (Direct Cost: ¥200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥60,000)
Fiscal Year 2023: ¥780,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥180,000)
Fiscal Year 2022: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
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| Keywords | Virtual Reality / Artificial Intelligence / Non-Player Character / Design / Communication / virtual reality / education / info-communication / STEM |
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| Outline of Research at the Start |
A quasi mixed-method design experiment will be conducted. A triangulated quantitative data set will be captured using non-disruptive tracking in VR and real-world solutions during the implementation of tasks to determine the Proteus Effect.
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
Communicating within Virtual Reality infer expected behaviors, appearance and actions; a phenomenon known as the Proteus Effect. The initial VR project was contextualized by the shared construction of a Personal Computer. An AI-enabled Non-Player Character (NPC) was designed with a personality to respond to spoken questions, specifically supporting the human interlocutor in building the PC. Physiological data was recorded using HRV and EDA metrics and perceived effort recorded using the NASA Cognitive Workload pairwise survey. Data collection is ongoing. The innovative approach to real-virtual world interactions and data acquisition, VR design and NPC characterizations have been published.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
Building upon the iterative knowledge gained in the initial study, time-independent interactions with an historical character was then developed. A 19th century Japanese town was designed in VR. Isabella Bird, who visited Hokkaido in 1878, Fukuzawa Yukichi and Takayoshi Kido were created as AI-enabled NPCs for users to interact and learn about Meiji-period Japan. Isabella Bird has been tested with over 100 interactions. The project has been transferred to a portable Meta Quest 3 for exhibitions, community centers and schools. The study employs a mixed-methods design, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative data collection approaches. The pragmatics of data collection have been challenging due to physiological inconsistencies and range of participants’ subject competencies.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
The 19th Century theme will continue in 2024 with the design of a Victorian English town in VR with Rudolf Diesel as the NPC. The aim is to learn about the development of diesel engines and their impact on late 19th century events. A virtual portal between 19th century Japan and England will allow ease of travel for participants to acquire contextualized knowledge. It is reasoned the participants will be immersed in a state of ‘flow’ and thus succumb to the Proetus Effect. The research will continue collating and analyzing biodata supported by the NASA-TLX metric with the aim of providing insights to the effect of virtual-to-real world task implementations and concurrent communication and interactions between real and AI-enabled virtual participants in an immersive Virtual Reality space.
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