Assessment HTN (A-HTN) for Automated Task Performance Assessment in 3D Serious Games

Abstract: In the recent years, various 3D mixed reality serious games have been developed for different applications such as physical training, rehabilitation, and education. Task performance in a serious game is a measurement of how efficiently and accurately users accomplish the game's objectives. Prior research includes a graph-based representation of tasks, e.g. Hierarchical Task Network (HTN), which only models a game's tasks but does not perform assessment. In this paper, we propose Assessment HTN (A-HTN), which both models the task efficiently and incorporates assessment logic for game objectives. Based on how the task performance is evaluated, A-HTN automatically performs: (a) Task-level Assessment by comparing object manipulations and (b) Action-level Assessment by comparing motion trajectories. The system can also categorize the task performance assessment into single user or multi-user based on who is being assessed. We showcase the effectiveness of the A-HTN using two 3D VR serious games: a hydrometer experiment and a multi-user chemistry experiment. The A-HTN experiments show a high correlation between instructor scores and the system generated scores indicating that the proposed A-HTN generalizes automatic assessment at par with Subject Matter Experts.