Avilés-Castillo, Fátima
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Avilés-Castillo, Fátima
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Ambato
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faviles@indoamerica.edu.ec
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57845057800

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Virtual Reality and User Experience: Current Trends and Future Challenges

2025 , Avilés-Castillo, Fátima , Buele, Jorge , Guillermo Palacios-Navarro

Virtual reality is an emerging and versatile technology that is gaining increasing interest from the scientific community, particularly regarding user experience. A review of the literature highlights the need for updated analyses that comprehensively address current trends in this field. The objective of this study is to analyze the evolution of scientific publications related to virtual reality and user experience, identifying trends, the most influential authors, relevant journals, and international collaborations, to provide a comprehensive overview. A bibliometric analysis was conducted using the Web of Science Core Collection database, identifying a total of 1,848 relevant publications. Network analysis techniques and Bradford’s law were applied, allowing for the examination of the distribution and impact of publications, as well as collaboration between authors and institutions. The results show an exponential growth in scientific output, particularly since 2019. While the United States leads in the number of publications, most of the influential authors are from Europe, with notable scientific output in Spain and Portugal. Current research hotspots include virtual reality applications in education and healthcare (over 70% of the analyzed publications), which align with Sustainable Development Goals, particularly 3 and 4. Trends indicate a shift towards integrating virtual reality with artificial intelligence, adaptive systems, and multisensory interaction to enhance immersion and usability. Challenges include a lack of standardized methodologies to assess immersion, presence, and cognitive load, which limits comparisons across studies and hinders the development of best practices. Future research should focus on refining interaction paradigms, improving accessibility, and developing ethical frameworks that respect data privacy and protect the user from cybersickness and the psychological effects of prolonged virtual reality exposure.

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Gamification in Inclusive Education for Children with Disabilities: Global Trends and Approaches - A Bibliometric Review

2023 , Jadán Guerrero, Janio , Avilés-Castillo, Fátima , Buele, Jorge , Palacios-Navarro G.

Given the growing attention to the intersection between technology and education, gamification has emerged as a strategy with great benefits. This bibliometric review addresses gamification’s current and future relevance in the educational field, focusing on its use as a pedagogical strategy to improve the learning and engagement of children with disabilities. Sixty-six studies published between 2001 and 2023 were analyzed, evaluating the most influential articles, main keywords, prominent authors, collaborating institutions, and funding sources. The literature suggests that gamification offers inclusive and personalized learning opportunities covering various disabilities. Methodologies and approaches to implement gamification were identified, including game elements, user-centered design techniques, and emerging technologies such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and educational robotics. However, challenges and areas for improvement were also found, such as the need for more long-term empirical evidence and the importance of considering individual differences and specific needs when designing gamification strategies. The review highlights the importance of strengthening collaborative networks between researchers and education professionals to disseminate best practices and promote more effective gamification approaches adapted to the needs of children with disabilities. Collaboration between educators, game developers, researchers, and parents are crucial to ensure that gamification efforts are inclusive and meet the diverse needs of students. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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Organizational communication in change management: A narrative review

2026 , Taruchaín Pozo, Fernando , Avilés-Castillo, Fátima , Evelyn Cuesta-Andaluz , Buele, Jorge

In an increasingly digital and competitive business landscape, communication practices within organizations are evolving to meet new operational and cultural demands. These shifts have redefined how companies engage with internal and external stakeholders across different levels. Despite the growing importance of communication, many organizations continue to face structural and strategic challenges that hinder effective message delivery and alignment. This review aims to identify key trends, persistent challenges, and the reported benefits of organizational communication, offering a synthesized view of recent academic contributions to the topic. A structured narrative review was conducted using thematic analysis of 52 peer-reviewed studies published in English and Spanish over the last decade. Using thematic analysis, the study identifies prevailing trends, key challenges, and reported benefits within organizational communication in the context of change management. Major trends include the adoption of digital communication tools, personalized messaging, strategic utilization of social media, and the incorporation of storytelling techniques. Challenges highlighted encompass resistance to change, message fragmentation, data security concerns, and information overload. The review also underscores significant benefits such as enhanced decision-making processes, improved stakeholder alignment, innovation facilitation, reputation management, and talent retention. These findings contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the evolving role of communication as a strategic asset in organizational change processes. The study concludes by emphasizing the necessity of integrated, adaptive, and inclusive communication strategies that not only support change initiatives but also foster organizational resilience and competitiveness in dynamic environments. Together, these findings provide a solid foundation for developing more effective communication practices aligned with the current demands of organizational transformation.

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Educational Robot Using Lego Mindstorms and Mobile Device

2020 , Varela Aldas, José , Miranda-Quintana O. , Guevara Maldonado, César Byron , Avilés-Castillo, Fátima , Palacios-Navarro G.

Modern education at different levels has integrated the use of technology as a teaching-learning assistant, especially in the initial stage of training because it motivates curiosity and helps the abstraction of knowledge. This paper presents the development of an educational robot using components of the Lego Mindstorms EV3 kit and a mobile app to interact with the student; the robot is build using two motors and two sensors, one to differentiate colours and the other one to measure proximity. The objective is to teach the different colours and explain the spatial position to children under five years old, while the screen of the mobile device interacts with the user. The results show the finished product, the data generated by a learning test, and a usability test, concluding that the robot fulfils its purpose, but requires certain improvements. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020.

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User Experience in Virtual Reality (VR) Applications for Elderly People with Cognitive Impairment and Dementia: A Scoping Review

2024 , Buele, Jorge , Avilés-Castillo, Fátima , Guillermo Palacios-Navarro

Background: In recent years, Virtual Reality (VR) has emerged as a promising tool to improve the well-being and functional capabilities of older adults. Although VR applications have shown positive results, their impact on user experience and therapeutic outcomes still needs to be evaluated. Objective: This scoping review aims to analyze existing studies on VR use in older adults with neurodegenerative disorders, focusing on the factors that influence usability, satisfaction, and immersion, as well as the effects on emotional and cognitive well-being. Materials and Methods: Empirical studies in English were included on VR applications applied to older adults with cognitive impairment without study design restrictions. The search was conducted in IEEE Xplore, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, identifying a total of 650 initial results. After screening, 14 studies met the inclusion criteria. Results: Immersive VR tends to generate a greater sense of presence, which contributes to improving emotional well-being and reducing neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as apathy and depression. However, its impact on cognitive functions, including memory and executive skills, varied depending on the level of immersion and participant characteristics. Despite these positive findings, significant heterogeneity was evident in study designs, measurement instruments, and user experience indicators. Conclusion: Virtual environments have great potential as a therapeutic tool for older adults, but their success depends on the personalization of applications and the adaptation of technology to the specific needs of this population. Future research should focus on developing standardized protocols, incorporating adaptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, and evaluating the long-term effects of VR to maximize its benefits and minimize its risks. This review was registered in Open Science Framework (OSF). Registration Number: 10.17605/OSF.IO/PNU36

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Optimizing Natural Language Processing: A Comparative Analysis of GPT-3.5, GPT-4, and GPT-4o

2024 , Ayala-Chauvin, Manuel Ignacio , Avilés-Castillo, Fátima

In the last decade, the advancement of artificial intelligence has transformed multiple sectors, with natural language processing standing out as one of the most dynamic and promising areas. This study focused on comparing the GPT-3.5, GPT-4 and GPT-4o language models, evaluating their efficiency and performance in Natural Language Processing tasks such as text generation, machine translation and sentiment analysis. Using a controlled experimental design, the response speed and quality of the outputs generated by each model were measured. The results showed that GPT-4o significantly outperforms GPT-4 in terms of speed, completing tasks 25% faster in text generation and 20% faster in translation. In sentiment analysis, GPT-4o was 30% faster than GPT-4. Additionally, analysis of response quality, assessed using human reviews, showed that while GPT-3.5 delivers fast and consistent responses, GPT-4 and GPT-4o produce higher quality and more de-tailed content. The findings suggest that GPT-4o is ideal for applications that require speed and consistency, while GPT-4, although slower, might be preferred in contexts where text accuracy and quality are important. This study highlights the need to balance efficiency and quality in the selection of language models and suggests implementing additional automatic evaluations in future research to complement the current findings

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Optimizing Natural Language Processing: A Comparative Analysis of GPT-3.5, GPT-4, and GPT-4o

2024 , Ayala-Chauvin, Manuel Ignacio , Avilés-Castillo, Fátima

In the last decade, the advancement of artificial intelligence has transformed multiple sectors, with natural language processing standing out as one of the most dynamic and promising areas. This study focused on comparing the GPT-3.5, GPT-4 and GPT-4o language models, evaluating their efficiency and performance in Natural Language Processing tasks such as text generation, machine translation and sentiment analysis. Using a controlled experimental design, the response speed and quality of the outputs generated by each model were measured. The results showed that GPT-4o significantly outperforms GPT-4 in terms of speed, completing tasks 25% faster in text generation and 20% faster in translation. In sentiment analysis, GPT-4o was 30% faster than GPT-4. Additionally, analysis of response quality, assessed using human reviews, showed that while GPT-3.5 delivers fast and consistent responses, GPT-4 and GPT-4o produce higher quality and more de-tailed content. The findings suggest that GPT-4o is ideal for applications that require speed and consistency, while GPT-4, although slower, might be preferred in contexts where text accuracy and quality are important. This study highlights the need to balance efficiency and quality in the selection of language models and suggests implementing additional automatic evaluations in future research to complement the current findings.

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Performance and Real-World Variability of Predictive Maintenance Models for Vehicle Fleets

2024 , Avilés-Castillo, Fátima , Dayanara Yánez-Arcos , Ayala-Chauvin, Manuel Ignacio , Elena Blanco-Romero

This study presents a comprehensive evaluation of predictive maintenance models for vehicle fleets, detailing a sequence of systematic steps to ensure model performance and address real-world variability. The process begins with database creation and data preprocessing, where relevant maintenance records are filtered, and datetime columns are converted to facilitate time-based calculations. Grouping and aggregation techniques are then applied to count occurrences of specific maintenance activities and identify common failure types. For model training, we define a neural network architecture comprising dense and dropout layers to mitigate overfitting, compile the model with suitable loss functions and optimizers, and train it using the prepared data. The trained model, along with the scaler and encoder, is saved for future use. To augment the dataset, synthetic data is generated using the Faker library and random distributions, with added noise to mimic real-world variability. Preprocessing steps are reapplied to this synthetic data to ensure consistency. By implementing this neural network, we achieved a sensitivity of 0.93 and an ROC of 0.71. Following these detailed steps, we develop a robust predictive maintenance model that effectively identifies failures and non-failures, ultimately enhancing the reliability and efficiency of vehicle fleet management.

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Robotics in higher education and its impact on digital learning

2025 , Zamora Lascano, Patrick , Lozada, Alan , Buele, Jorge , Avilés-Castillo, Fátima

In recent years, robotics has transformed various industrial processes but has also influenced teaching methodologies. Although there are literature reviews on its application in professional training, many are outdated or lack a current focus on its impact in higher education. Addressing this gap, the present mini review examines the impact, challenges, and opportunities of this technology in the university setting. To this end, a search was conducted in the PubMed, Scopus, IEEE Xplore, APA PsycNet, and Web of Science databases, selecting 11 studies that addressed diverse applications of robotics, including educational robotics, robotic telepresence, human-robot interaction, and artificial intelligence applications. Their effects on teaching, the factors influencing their adoption, and the strategies used to optimize their implementation were analyzed. The findings show that educational robotics enhances student motivation and engagement, with prediction models reaching an accuracy of 98.78% in assessing academic engagement. Additionally, robotic telepresence emerges as an effective alternative for hybrid education, and social robots and AI-based tutors demonstrated their potential to personalize learning. However, methodological and structural challenges persist, such as the need to develop more accurate evaluation metrics and ensure accessibility and educational equity. Future research should focus on improving these aspects, enabling more efficient integration to enhance teaching processes. This study was registered in the Open Science Framework under the code: 10.17605/OSF.IO/KHDTU.

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Adaptive Learning Platforms and Their Influence on Higher Education: A Scoping Review

2025 , Núñez Hernández, Corina , Avilés-Castillo, Fátima , Buele, Jorge

Over the past decade, adaptive learning platforms have transformed higher education by adjusting content and activities based on students’ abilities and progress. This approach personalizes learning and optimizes academic performance, particularly in complex disciplines such as engineering and science. However, challenges remain related to their technological implementation and acceptance by both students and educators. This scoping review analyzes the impact of adaptive learning platforms in higher education, focusing on their influence on academic performance, student motivation, practical implementation challenges, and future implications for research. An exploratory literature review was conducted using the PRISMA-ScR method, identifying recent studies published between 2019 and 2024 in databases such as ERIC, Scopus, IEEE Xplore, Web of Science, and APA PsycNet. Quantitative and qualitative research studies were selected, evaluating the impact of these platforms in university settings and the outcomes they produce. The results indicate that adaptive learning platforms significantly enhance academic performance by providing personalized experiences and immediate feedback. They also increase student motivation and engagement, particularly in online learning environments. However, challenges were identified, including the need for adequate technological infrastructure and specialized training for educators. Adaptive learning platforms hold transformative potential in higher education but require overcoming technological and pedagogical barriers. Further qualitative research is recommended to better understand user experiences and maximize their effectiveness across diverse educational contexts.

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