Top Research Papers on Virtual Assistant

This study provides critical information on the use and development of virtual teaching assistants using a zero-coding technique, which is the most suitable approach for organizations with limited financial and human resources.

In this study, we delve into the perceived quality of recommendations provided by AI-based virtual service assistants (VSAs). Specifically, the role of the social presence of VSAs in influencing recommendation perceptions is investigated. We also explore how the social presence of a VSA is formed and how perceived anthropomorphism plays a vital role in shaping social presence and eventually instilling trust in VSAs among consumers. These relationships are examined in the context of online government services. The results indicate that consumer interaction with VSAs - manifesting via perceived ...

The educational system outlined establishes a basis for the potential role of integrating artificial intelligence and virtual reality simulation into surgical educational teaching, and creates a novel educational tool by integrating these three components into a formative educational paradigm.

Abstraction in western practice, James G. Carrier the triumph of economics - or, rationality can be dangerous to your reasoning, Ben Fine abstraction, reality and the gender of economic man, Julie Nelson development and structural adjustment, Philip McMichael cash for quotas - disputes over the legitimacy of an model of fishing in Iceland, Agnar Helgason and Gisli Palsson the transnational capitalist class, Leslie Sklair virtual capitalism - the globalization of reflexive business knowledge, Nigel Thrift conclusion, Daniel Miller.

Artificial Intelligence enabled Virtual Assistants (VAs) are evolving rapidly, offering promising opportunities to provide personalized shopping assistance and 24/7 frontline service. They can reduce the workload of human employees while delivering a seamless customer experience. Despite these benefits, the adoption of AI VAs as a retail marketing channel is patchy. The objective of this study is to reveal the multidisciplinary factors impeding the adoption of AI VAs in retail using the Fuzzy AHP method. Seven main barriers and thirty-seven sub-barriers are identified, classified, and ranked. ...

Virtual influencers (VIs), digitally created characters with a significant presence on social media, are progressively engaged to promote products and brands. Understanding the impact of these influencers' anthropomorphic design is crucial to their marketing effectiveness. Drawing from anthropomorphism literature, this research evaluates the effect of four types of anthropomorphism—namely, appearance, moral virtue, cognitive experience, and conscious emotionality—on followers' perceptions of VI credibility and parasocial relationships, as well as their purchase intention. The results of a surv...

The capability of the VR system to make users feel physically present in the virtual environment contributes significantly to the development of positive emotions and enjoyment, which can contribute positively to the user’s consumer behaviour towards the touristic products and services.

The development of cyber-physical systems is drawing attention to the question of how data can be captured from the physical world and be fed into a connected IS: the condition of thephysical world can either be ‘‘directly’’ observed or indirectly derived by fusing data from one or more physical sensors.

Virtual reality, Augmented reality, Mixed reality, Extended reality, Immersive systems

The aim of this review was to discuss the current knowledge surrounding the various techniques and methodologies related to virtual mounting in dentistry, and whether virtual articulators will become commonplace in clinical practice in the future.

There is no other design book on the market in the area of online games and virtual worlds that provides the rich detail, historical context, and conceptual depth of Designing Virtual Worlds.

Objective: To determine whether RAL affects perioperative outcomes and long-term efficacy in NSCLC patients, compared with traditional VAL. Summary of Background Data: RAL is a promising treatment for NSCLC. However, its efficacy has not been fully evaluated. Methods: A single-center, open-labeled prospective randomized clinical trial was launched in May 2017 to compare the efficacy of RAL and VAL. By May 2020, 320 patients were enrolled. The perioperative results of RAL and VAL were compared. Results: The 320 enrolled patients were randomly assigned to the RAL group (n = 157) and the VAL grou...

A review and comparison of the active power control and inertial capabilities of ten VSG solutions available in the literature and a common tuning procedure is proposed to obtain a fair performance comparison.

An analysis of the user experience and usability results of the developed application, showing a high user experience score and the experimental group students also found the application enjoyable and they would like to take part in such novel-approach lessons more often.

Abstract As virtual reality (VR) technology enters mainstream markets, it is imperative that we understand its potential impacts on users, both positive and negative. In the present paper, we build on the extant literature’s focus on the physical side effects of VR gameplay (e.g., cybersickness) by focusing on VR’s potential to intensify users’ experiences of negative emotions. We first conducted a preliminary survey to assess users’ emotional responses during VR gameplay, with the results suggesting that certain VR situations can in fact produce intense negative emotional experiences. We then...

This paper examines the classification of modern VR head-mounted displays (HMDs) and conducts a comparative analysis on an example of several relevant for today headsets, showing that overall HTC Vive Pro has the best qualities among the other devices.

It is suggested that VR can and probably will fundamentally change the way in which tourists’ experiences and requirements are managed entirely.

Current and emerging technologies and applications in surgery, their benefits and challenges around immersion, spatial awareness and cognition, and their reported and projected use in learning environments, procedure planning and perioperative contexts and in the surgical theatre are explored.

An adaptive virtual impedance-based VSG control approach for grid-connected and islanded microgrids is proposed to alleviate impedance difference at the inverter output and improve proportional reactive power sharing among DGs.

There are many similarities between HIs and VIs and their roles as the source of advertising messages, but also critical differences that determine the limitations and potentials of VIs in interactive advertising.

Abstract Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) is being used for educational virtual field trips (VFTs) involving scenarios that may be too difficult, dangerous or expensive to experience in real life. We implemented an immersive VFT within the investigation phase of an inquiry‐based learning (IBL) climate change intervention. Students investigated the consequences of climate change by virtually traveling to Greenland and exploring albedo and greenhouse effects first hand. A total of 102 seventh and eighth grade students were randomly assigned to one of two instructional conditions: (1) narrated pre...

A novel white cane controller is examined that enables navigation without vision of large virtual environments with complex architecture, such as winding paths and occluding walls and doors and employs a lightweight three-axis brake mechanism to provide large-scale shape of virtual objects.

A virtual point of common coupling and a virtual power angle concept are proposed to represent the mathematical model of the VSG with VR damping and it is revealed that the VR has negative and different impacts on the transient stability compared with the real grid resistor.

This study shows that voice interaction with a VA that incorporates functional intelligence, sincerity, and creativity empowers consumers to take control of their voice interactions with the VA, focus on their voice interaction, and engage in exploratory behavior.

A Virtual Embodiment Questionnaire (VEQ) is developed to assess components of virtual embodiment in a valid, reliable, and consistent fashion and the reliability and validity of the scale is confirmed.

The research found that consumers' perceptions of FaVs in both non-immersive and immersive virtual stores (VS) are similar to those in a physical store.

It is supported that VR sickness produces unequal effects across multiple individual differences, and these effects appear resilient across applications of VR programs, and further research is needed to develop theory and identify explanatory mechanisms that detail these relationships.

It is recommended that the implementation of VR entails the entire process, from identifying barriers to developing and employing a coherent, multi-level implementation intervention with suitable strategies, which in turn might result in increased uptake and use of VR technologies that are of added value for healthcare practice.

This article investigated the challenges faced by teachers, and executive education professors in Brazil, through live online classes via the Zoom platform, and compared live virtual with classroom teaching, promoting the debate on the implications and best practices.

Abstract This study describes and investigates the immersion principle in multimedia learning. A sample of 102 middle school students took a virtual field trip to Greenland via a head mounted display (HMD) or a 2D video as an introductory lesson within a 6-lesson inquiry-based climate change intervention. The HMD group scored significantly higher than the video group on presence ( d = 1.43), enjoyment ( d = 1.10), interest ( d = .57), and retention in an immediate ( d = .61) and delayed posttest ( d = .70). A structural equation model indicated that enjoyment mediated the pathway from instruct...

COVID-19 brought the global tourism industry to a standstill. In response, various tourism stakeholders adopted innovative approaches such as virtual tours (VTs) to keep their attractions firmly in the minds of potential visitors. This study has integrated the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Protective Action Decision Model (PADM) models to determine the factors that affect a person’s decision to adopt VTs as temporary alternatives during times of crises. Data were collected from a sample of 401 respondents after they had experienced at least one of the VTs simulating Egyptian heritage s...

It is found that the use of Cardboard goggles did not produce a significantly greater sense of presence in the experience of advertorial viewers, which supports the hypothesis that presence plays a mediating role in the relationship between theUse of VR in tourism advertising and consumer response.

The study highlights among its conclusions the need for careful planning, an adequate dynamic to form collaborative groups, the relevance of student practices related to everyday use of technologies, the change of the teaching role, and autonomy in the management of learning.

An investigation was carried out on the design, development and use of a metaverse as a digital tool of didactic support to students of the Faculty of Systems Engineering of the University of Cundinamarca, with a view to establishing its viability to be implemented in a course of mathematics.

Lidar-based sensing drives current autonomous vehicles. Despite rapid progress, current Lidar sensors still lag two decades behind traditional color cameras in terms of resolution and cost. For autonomous driving, this means that large objects close to the sensors are easily visible, but far-away or small objects comprise only one measurement or two. This is an issue, especially when these objects turn out to be driving hazards. On the other hand, these same objects are clearly visible in onboard RGB sensors. In this work, we present an approach to seamlessly fuse RGB sensors into Lidar-based ...

The COVID-19 pandemic is an extraordinary global situation, and all countries have adopted their own strategies to diminish and eliminate the spread of the virus. All measures are in line with the recommendations provided by the World Health Organization. Scientific societies, such as the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology and American Society for Reproductive Medicine, have provided recommendations and guidance to overcome and flatten the growing curve of infection in patients who undergo IVF treatments. Although there is as yet no evidence that the virus causing COVID-19 ...

Telemedicine for Covid-19’s payment and regulatory structures, licensing, credentialing, and implementation take time to work through, but health systems that have a...

To what extent VR virtual environments, videos, games, tasks, avatar, images, and 360-degree panoramas can elicit emotions is evaluated and the VR's potential to evoke emotions effectively and naturally by generating motivational and empathy mechanisms makes it an ecologically valid paradigm to study emotions.

A review of ethical issues in virtual and augmented reality. 

The presented XR platforms will be useful for biomedical education, medical training, surgical guidance, and molecular data visualization to enhance trainees’ and students’ learning, medical operation accuracy, and the comprehensibility of complex biological systems.