It is clear that learning efficiency in VR space increases when avatars are customized

There is a method to utilize VR when face-to-face training is difficult. At this time, research at the University of Bath revealed that learning progresses efficiently if the avatar is customized to resemble the person himself.

Dancing with the Avatars: Minimal Avatar Customization Enhances Learning in a Psychomotor Task | Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Customizing avatars to look more like you improve learning in virtual environments

Dancing with the Avatars: Minimal Avatar Customization Enhances Learning in a Psychomotor Task-YouTube


Various industries are using VR for training where face-to-face training is not possible, such as in hazardous or health- and safety-sensitive environments.

In general, in these training systems, the functions of the avatar part are the minimum, for example, only a humanoid androgynous virtual instructor is prepared, and even if it can be customized, it can be customized in one or two places. It's about a place.

A researcher at REVEAL, a research center for immersive technology at the University of Bath, has shown in previous research in psychology that a trainer similar to himself has a high learning effect, so he can use an avatar with only basic customization. We investigated the effect of learning.

There were 97 participants in the experiment, and they learned dance moves for beginners with avatars using a screen or a VR headset. At this time, participants learned two routines, one from an avatar with similar gender, hair color, skin color, etc., and the other from an avatar with different gender and physical characteristics. .

After the session, participants also evaluated how well they could imagine the dance moves and how similar they were physically to their avatars.

As a result, it was found that the ability to imagine dance movements was higher when an avatar similar to oneself demonstrated. We also found that training with a VR headset was more effective than watching a TV screen.

Izzy Fitton, the lead author of the paper, said, ``It seems that there was a big difference in being able to choose an avatar of the same gender.Most women preferred female avatars.In addition, hairstyles and beards, Being able to customize physical characteristics, such as skin tone, was also important for many participants.'

'It shows that even minimal customization can make a big difference in improving the effectiveness of training that takes place in a virtual environment,' said Fitton. The plan is to investigate whether customization of avatars has a positive effect on learning tasks such as factory assembly lines.