Mixed Reality Humans: Evaluating Behavior, Usability, and Acceptability

This paper presents mixed reality humans (MRHs), a new type of embodied agent enabling touch-driven communication. Affording touch between human and agent allows MRHs to simulate interpersonal scenarios in which touch is crucial. Two studies provide initial evaluation of user behavior with a MRH patient and the usability and acceptability of a MRH patient for practice and evaluation of medical students´ clinical skills. In Study I (n = 8) it was observed that students treated MRHs as social actors more than students in prior interactions with virtual human patients (n = 27), and used interpersonal touch to comfort and reassure the MRH patient similarly to prior interactions with human patients (n = 76). In the within-subjects Study II (n = 11), medical students performed a clinical breast exam on each of a MRH and human patient. Participants performed equivalent exams with the MRH and human patients, demonstrating the usability of MRHs to evaluate students´ exam skills. The acceptability of the MRH patient for practicing exam skills was high as students rated the experience as believable and educationally beneficial. Acceptability was improved from Study I to Study II due to an increase in the MRH´s visual realism, demonstrating that visual realism is critical for simulation of specific interpersonal scenarios.