WAVE: A Web-Based Platform for Delivering Knowledge-Driven Virtual Experiences

Many studies have demonstrated the usefulness of virtual characters in educational settings; however, widespread adoption of such tools is limited by development costs and accessibility. This article describes a novel platform, web automated virtual environment (WAVE), to deliver virtual experiences through the web. The system integrates data acquired from a variety of sources in a manner that allows the virtual characters to exhibit behaviors that are appropriate to the designer’s goals, such as providing support for users based on understanding their activities and their emotional states. Our WAVE platform overcomes the challenge of the scalability of the human-in-the-loop model by employing a web-based system and triggering automated character behaviors. To support wide-scale use, we are making WAVE freely accessible (part of the Open Education Resources) and available anytime, anywhere.