Virtual Exercise Coach Personalities: How the proxemic behavior of a digital coach affects perceptions of advice
Author
Møller Tøttrup, Mikkel
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2026
Abstract
This thesis investigates how the physical proximity (proxemics) of a digital coach in virtual reality influences how users experience and evaluate exercise advice. Responding to the growing popularity of at-home training and digital coaching, the author developed a VR coaching system in which a virtual drone acts as the coach avatar and provides guidance during an exercise. In a study with 14 participants, each person completed four exercise sessions that combined different advice styles with either a moving or stationary drone while wearing a VR headset. After each session, participants answered questionnaires that were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods to assess how the drone’s distance and movement affected enjoyment and perceptions of the advice. Quantitative results indicated only a slight negative effect of drone movement on enjoyment, but qualitative findings suggested that this was mainly due to other design factors, especially that participants’ attention was split between a separate visual exercise guide and the moving drone, and that the drone sometimes obstructed their view. Several participants became more receptive to the drone as they repeated the exercise, suggesting that perceived effectiveness may increase as users adapt to the system. Based on survey and interview responses, the thesis identifies key design themes for future digital coaching systems, including the need for context-aware and relevant messages, fewer competing visual focal points, more visually expressive coach avatars, and systems that adapt to user experience over time. Overall, the work offers recommendations on how proxemic behavior can be leveraged in virtual coaching to enhance both usability and user enjoyment, while highlighting pitfalls that designers should avoid.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan den fysiske nærhed (proxemik) af en digital træner i virtual reality påvirker brugeres oplevelse af træningsråd. Med udgangspunkt i den stigende brug af hjemmetræning og digitale trænere udviklede forfatteren et VR-coachingsystem, hvor en virtuel drone fungerer som træneravatar og leverer vejledning under en øvelse. I et eksperiment med 14 deltagere udførte hver person fire træningsforløb med forskellige kombinationer af beskedstil og dronens bevægelse (bevægelse vs. stillestående), mens de bar VR-headset. Efter hver session besvarede deltagerne spørgeskemaer, som blev analyseret kvantitativt og kvalitativt for at vurdere, hvordan dronens afstand og bevægelse påvirkede nydelse og opfattelse af rådgivningen. De kvantitative resultater viste kun en svag negativ effekt af bevægelse på nydelsen, men de kvalitative data pegede på, at dette primært skyldtes andre designvalg, især at brugernes opmærksomhed blev delt mellem en separat visuel øvelsesguide og den bevægelige drone, samt at dronen til tider blokerede udsynet. Flere deltagere blev mere positive over for dronen, efterhånden som de vænnede sig til systemet, hvilket antyder, at den oplevede nytte kan stige med erfaring. På baggrund af interview- og spørgeskemasvar identificerer specialet temaer for design af fremtidige digitale trænere, herunder behovet for kontekstafhængige og relevante beskeder, færre konkurrerende fokuspunkter, mere visuelt ekspressive coach-avatarer og systemer, der kan tilpasse sig brugerens erfaring over tid. Samlet set giver arbejdet anbefalinger til, hvordan proxemisk adfærd kan udnyttes i virtuelle trænersystemer for at øge både brugbarhed og brugeroplevelse, samtidig med at det peger på faldgruber, som bør undgås.
[This abstract has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project full text]