Table 1.
Descriptive data and virtual companion interaction data for the Stage 1 research sample. All the participants participated in one session with the virtual companion. M—man; W—woman.
| Participant Number | Gender | Age | Cognitive Performance Score | Length of Session (min:s) | Subjective Reports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-1 | M | 68 | 3 | 3:00 | The participant had a natural conversation with reminiscence on topics they had not thought about for a long time. |
| 2022-2 | W | 85 | 3 | 1:00 | The participant did not speak to the virtual companion. |
| 2022-3 | M | 81 | 3 | 0:00 | The participant did not want to wear the head-mounted display. |
| 2022-4 | W | 93 | 4 | 4:30 | The participant engaged in some conversation, but used semi-coherent sentences. There was minimal reminiscing. |
| 2022-5 | W | 74 | 5 | 2:00 | There was minimal interaction. The participant was happy to be asked questions, and responded with a smile. |
| 2022-6 | M | 85 | 3 | 3:30 | The participant engaged with the virtual companion and seemed pleased to answer the questions. |
| 2022-7 | W | 82 | 5 | 4:00 | The participant did not interact verbally, but was happy to wear the head-mounted display. |
| 2022-8 | W | 80 | 3 | 2:30 | The participant did not seem to understand the virtual companion, and was not interested in interacting. |
| 2022-9 | M | 84 | 3 | 2:00 | There was a short interaction. The participant expressed enjoyment and thought that the virtual companion was “friendly”. |
| 2022-10 | W | 87 | 5 | 5:30 | The participant responded to some questions but not others. There was some laughter. |
| Frequency or mean (standard deviation) | 4 M 6 W |
82 (6.9) |
3.7 (0.9) |
2:48 (1:42) |