Evaluating Teacher Avatar Appearances in Educational VR

Abstract

We present a pilot study of four teacher avatars for an educational virtual field trip. The avatars consist of a depth-video-based mesh of a real person, a game-style human model, a robot model, and the robot with its head replaced by a video feed of the teacher's face. Multiple avatars were developed to consider alternatives to the mesh representation that required high-bandwidth networks and a non-immersive teacher interface. The pilot study presents a random avatar to the participant at each of 4 educational stations, and follows up with a subjective questionnaire. Most notably, we find positive affinity for the plain robot model to be similar to that of the video mesh, which was previously shown to provide high co-presence and good results for education. Results are guiding a larger study that will measure the educational efficacy of revised avatars.