T2D: Generating Dialogues Between Virtual Agents Automatically from Text

The Text2Dialogue (T2D) system that we are developing allows digital content creators to generate attractive multi-modal dialogues presented by two virtual agents–by simply providing textual information as input. We use Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST) to decompose text into segments and to identify rhetorical discourse relations between them. These are then 'acted out' by two 3D agents using synthetic speech and appropriate conversational gestures. In this paper, we present version 1.0 of the T2D system and focus on the novel technique that it uses for mapping rhetorical relations to question–answer pairs, thus transforming (monological) text into a form that supports dialogues between virtual agents

Generating Dialogues for Virtual Agents Using Nested Textual Coherence Relations

This paper describes recent advances on the Text2Dialogue system we are currently developing. Our system enables automatic transformation of monological text into a dialogue. The dialogue is then 'acted out' by virtual agents, using synthetic speech and gestures. In this paper, we focus on the monologue-to-dialogue transformation, and describe how it uses textual coherence relations to map text segments to query–answer pairs between an expert and a layman agent. By creating mapping rules for a few well-selected relations, we can produce coherent dialogues with proper assignment of turns for the speakers in a majority of cases

Deliverable D9.3 Final Project Report

This document comprises the final report of LinkedTV. It includes a publishable summary, a plan for use and dissemination of foreground and a report covering the wider societal implications of the project in the form of a questionnaire

Designing personalized video-based crossmedia informal learning environments beyond iTV

Tese de doutoramento, Informática (Engenharia Informática), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2014Video is a very rich medium, in cognitive and affective terms, to convey information and support learning and entertainment like no other medium, and TV is a privileged way to watch it. However, by being traditionally watched in a more experiential and passive cognitive mode, TV and video are limited in their capacity to fully support learning so important in the lifelong learning era where learning is taking place in a wide variety of contexts and locations that calls for flexible environments. TV and video are limited in their capacity to fully support learning but may induce viewers to engage in more reflective modes, that can be supported to some extent by their adequate design, in interactive contexts and augmented by other media and devices, in diverse situations. The inclusion of iTV that has been gaining increasing attention from researchers, and practitioners, in the last few years, as part of rich and flexible crossmedia environments brings new opportunities in this respect. This situation justifies our research main goal to efficiently and flexibly support users learning informal opportunities created in video-based crossmedia environments, taking into account the different cognitive modes, contexts of use and taking advantage of the diverse devices being used in order to have each device contributing with what it does best. In order to illustrate, explore and validate our research, the eiTV application was conceptualized, prototyped and evaluated. It is capable to create videobased crossmedia informal learning environments, created as additional information to the video being watched, initially via iTV. These environments are accessed from iTV, PC and mobile devices (the most commonly used in crossmedia scenarios), depending on the preferred or most adequate device in each context of use.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, SFRH/PROTEC/67727/2010, projeto UTA-Est/MAI/0010/2009

Surround vision : a handheld screen for accessing peripheral content around the TV

Thesis (S.M. in Media Technology)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2010.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 59-60).If one thinks of a television set as a window into another world, then whatever one sees through it could be assumed to continue past the edges of the TV. If the TV shows a forest scene, then to the sides of the TV one should be able to find the continuation of this forest, meaning more trees and perhaps a stream, a path and even some birds and squirrels. This thesis describes a novel system that situates the viewer at the center of a surround space. The system proposes that the main program be augmented with content that is specifically created for spatial continuity or other perceptual effect, and that the viewer use a hand-held navigational device with a viewing screen to access this secondary source of information, even while keeping an eye on the main screen. This navigational paradigm begs for new storytelling conventions and presents new storytelling challenges. The thesis describes a working prototype, three types of footage used to test the system in various scenarios and a user study that provides initial understandings of the effects of this system on the audience. This thesis explores how a system that enables exploratory interaction with the contents on the TV will affect both the industry and experience.by Santiago Alfaro.S.M.in Media Technolog

Towards a Video Consumer Leaning Spectrum: A Medium-Centric Approach

Purpose: As TV and digital video converge, there is a need to compare advertising effectiveness, advertising receptivity, and video consumption drivers in this new context. Considering the emerging viewing practices and underlying theories, this study examines the feasibility of the traditional notion of differentiating between lean-back (LB) and lean-forward (LF) media, and proposes a revised approach of addressing video consumption processes and associated advertising effectiveness implications. Methodology: An extensive, systematic literature review examines a total of 715 sources regarding current lean-back/lean-forward media research and alternative approaches as by (1) basic terminologies, (2) limitations of lean-back/lean-forward situations, (3) advertising effectiveness implications, (4) video-specific approaches. Findings/Contribution: Key differences between lean-back and lean-forward video consumption are presented. A conceptual integration of video ad receptivity/effectiveness drivers is proposed to guide future media and marketing research and practice. Video consumption today is no longer lean-back or lean-forward, but a “leaning spectrum” with two dimensions: leaning direction and leaning degree. Designing video content today requires focusing on consumption drivers and platform synergies for owning the “leaning spectrum”

Thinking Outside the Box : TV Programming Challenges in the Digital Age

Managing a television network is no longer just about building a linear programming schedule that appeals to the target audience and is interrupted by commercial breaks that support the business. Television channels are now multi-media companies that juggle many different platforms and revenue streams while trying to survive rigorous competition from hundreds of other networks which invest in high quality and specialized programs. This study goes deep into the structure of Fuse Networks and through in-depth interviews draws insights from experienced top level management professionals in order to shed more light on the mechanisms of operating a multi-platform business.The study outlines the structure and operations of the Programming and the Multiplatform departments, gives a detailed look into the opportunities created by the emergence of new distribution models and explains how operating a complex media structure has become an industry requirement. It sketches some of the challenges faced by multi-departmental structures in building a cohesive and successful branding strategy, and discusses some of the flaws that mark an ever-changing media landscape like lacking a universal measurement tool across platforms.M.S., Television Management -- Drexel University, 201

Conceptualizing television viewing in the digital age: Patterns of exposure and the cultivation process

With an ever-increasing variety of platforms, devices and services to choose from, new media technologies have altered and transformed the television viewing experience. With television more accessible and convenient than ever, viewers are consuming even more content, ensuring that television continues to dominate the cultural landscape. Therefore, it is imperative to understand how television viewing in the current media environment impacts audiences. For more than fifty years, cultivation theory has proven to be an enduring and generative research approach to understanding how exposure to the world of television shapes audiences\u27 views of social reality. However, no cultivation study to date has addressed the question of how different television technologies and patterns of viewing intervene in the cultivation process. This study fills this void by examining this unexplored area of cultivation research. A questionnaire was developed that measured television exposure in the current media environment, specifically focusing on the use of new and traditional viewing platforms, devices, and services. These new and traditional forms of exposure were presented along with measures of overall viewing, demographic control items, and traditional measures of cultivation outcomes, including estimates of violence, crime, and the distribution of law enforcement in the workforce, and second order measures including mean world views and politically moderate ideology. Employing a cross-sectional research design, five hundred and nine adults completed the questionnaire designed for this study. In order to investigate the impact of new and traditional forms of exposure on the cultivation process, regression analyses were conducted for each cultivation outcome, with overall exposure serving as the independent variable, and each new and traditional form of exposure serving as a moderating variable. Each regression analysis tested the interaction between overall exposure and each respective moderating variable to determine whether the interaction significantly predicted the cultivation outcome. For each of the significant interactions, further analyses were conducted to specifically examine how cultivation outcomes varied across levels of exposure as a function of the moderator variable. The patterns of conditional effects reveal the ways in which traditional and new forms of exposure both differentially and similarly impacted the cultivation process. And, there is evidence, albeit mixed, that new and traditional forms of exposure differentially impact cultivation outcomes. This study serves as a starting point for future analysis and avenues of inquiry into what was previously an unexplored area of cultivation research: the implications of new and traditional forms of viewing on the cultivation process

A Review of Text-to-Animation Systems

Text-to-graphics systems encompass three types of tools: text-to-picture, text-to-scene and text-to-animation. They are an artificial intelligence application wherein users can create 2D and 3D scenes or animations and recently immersive environments from natural language. These complex tasks require the collaboration of various fields, such as natural language processing, computational linguistics and computer graphics. Text-to-animation systems have received more interest than their counterparts, and have been developed for various domains, including theatrical pre-production, education or training. In this survey we focus on text-to-animation systems, discussing their requirements, challenges and proposing solutions, and investigate the natural language understanding approaches adopted in previous research works to solve the challenge of animation generation. We review text-to-animation systems developed over the period 2001-2021, and investigate their recent trends in order to paint the current landscape of the field