392177 Projekt "Adaptive Assistance and Training in Virtual Reality" (PjS) (SoSe 2019)

With regard to mass customization the amount of diverse products increases steeply in the automotive industry, whereby the task requirement of the worker changes. The worker has to be capable of assembling various parts within the predetermined time. To ensure high performance, learning environments using virtual reality (VR) technology are deployed. Such learning environments gain importance in various domains, due to the decreasing costs of physical hardware and the advantage of context-sensitivity. For instance, the adaptability regarding the use of different assistance methods (i.e. type, amount and time) due to the individually qualifications/learning statue. Together with Bielefeld Applied University, a special area for virtual reality practice has been developed (Virtual SkillsLab: http://virtualskillslab.de/). Since the perceived cognitive load is an indicator for learning success, one of the goals of the Virtual SkillsLab is to optimize the perceived cognitive load during the performance of the manual tasks. Precisely, the consideration of the continuous cognitive load could enhance the learning success. Relevant conclusions can be deduced for the provision of information in the context of manual tasks. Electroencephalography (EEG) is an imaging technique for indicating brain activity. More precise, the electrical activity is measured to detect cortical processes. Main advantages are the high temporal resolution combined with the fact of non-invasiveness. Furthermore, the measurement can take place continuously without additional task requirements. However, the quality of the data are dependent on motion artefacts, therefore a practicable integration ensuring the simultaneous use of EEG-devices and VR-devices is important. Consequently, in this project the integration of an EEG-device for a continuously measurement of the cognitive load has to be done and furthermore, an adaptive assistance considering the obtained information has to be designed and evaluated.

Project Description:
The aim of the project is to enhance the Virtual SkillsLab by integrating an EEG-device to ensure a continuously consideration of the perceived cognitive load. Moreover, the obtained data should be used for an enhanced assistance in the learning scenario of the Virtual SkillsLabs. In general, there should be the capability of transferring the developed concepts to different learning scenarios in the context of manual tasks (e.g. manual assembly tasks in the automotive context).