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Virtual reality (VR) and interactive 3D visualization systems have enhanced educational experiences and environments, particularly in complicated subjects such as anatomy education. VR-based systems surpass the potential limitations of traditional training approaches in facilitating interactive engagement among students. However, research on embodied virtual assistants that leverage generative artificial intelligence (AI) and verbal communication in the anatomy education context is underrepresented. In this work, we introduce a VR environment with a generative AI-embodied virtual assistant to support participants in responding to varying cognitive complexity anatomy questions and enable verbal communication. We assessed the technical efficacy and usability of the proposed environment in a pilot user study with 16 participants. We conducted a within-subject design for virtual assistant configuration (avatar- and screen-based), with two levels of cognitive complexity (knowledge- and analysis-based). The results reveal a significant difference in the scores obtained from knowledge- and analysis-based questions in relation to avatar configuration. Moreover, results provide insights into usability, cognitive task load, and the sense of presence in the proposed virtual assistant configurations. Our environment and results of the pilot study offer potential benefits and future research directions beyond medical education, using generative AI and embodied virtual agents as customized virtual conversational assistants. 

Abstract Inspired by significant local distortions found near vacancies in a neutron pair distribution function analysis study (G. King et al.,Inorg. Chem.2012, 51, 13060) of Sr₂MSbO_5.5(M = Ca and Sr), this computational study finds minimum‐energy structures with these and related distortions using density functional theory (DFT) with the Perdew‐Burke‐Ernzerhof (PBE) functional as implemented in the Vienna Ab Initio Simulations Package (VASP) (G. Kresse and J. Furthmüller,Phys. Rev. B, 1996, 54, 11169; G. Kresse and J. Hafner,Phys. Rev. B, 1993, 47, 558; G. Kresse and J. Furthmüller,Comput. Mater. Sci., 1996, 6, 15). All structures were optimized using the conjugate gradient method. The global minima found for both systems featured trigonal bipyramid SbO₅structures and edge sharing with M‐centered polyhedra. However, while calcium ions occupied full and partial octahedra, the larger strontium ions were more commonly found in full and partial pentagonal bipyramids. Molecular dynamics with velocity rescaling at1200K revealed movements of the oxygen vacancy via polyhedral rotations. This work highlights the need to consider both square pyramid to trigonal bipyramid rearrangements around small ions and rotational polyhedral movements in simulating oxygen vacancy conduction in oxygen‐deficient double perovskites.