Semi-Autonomous Avatars: A New Direction for Expressive User Embodiment

Computer animated characters are rapidly becoming a regular part of our lives. They are starting to take the place of actors in films and television and are now an integral part of most computer games. Perhaps most interestingly in on-line games and chat rooms they are representing the user visually in the form of avatars, becoming our on-line identities, our embodiments in a virtual world. Currently online environments such as “Second Life” are being taken up by people who would not traditionally have considered playing games before, largely due to a greater emphasis on social interaction. These environments require avatars that are more expressive and that can make on-line social interactions seem more like face-to-face conversations. Computer animated characters come in many different forms. Film characters require a substantial amount of off-line animator effort to achieve high levels of quality; these techniques are not suitable for real time applications and are not the focus of this chapter. Non-player characters (typically the bad guys) in games use limited artificial intelligence to react autonomously to events in real time. However avatars are completely controlled by their users, reacting to events solely through user commands. This chapter will discuss the distinction between fully autonomous characters and completely controlled avatars and how the current differentiation may no longer be useful, given that avatar technology may need to include more autonomy to live up to the demands of mass appeal. We will firstly discuss the two categories and present reasons to combine them. We will then describe previous work in this area and finally present our own framework for semi-autonomous avatars

Developing a virtual reality environment for petrous bone surgery: a state-of-the-art review

The increasing power of computers has led to the development of sophisticated systems that aim to immerse the user in a virtual environment. The benefits of this type of approach to the training of physicians and surgeons are immediately apparent. Unfortunately the implementation of “virtual reality” (VR) surgical simulators has been restricted by both cost and technical limitations. The few successful systems use standardized scenarios, often derived from typical clinical data, to allow the rehearsal of procedures. In reality we would choose a system that allows us not only to practice typical cases but also to enter our own patient data and use it to define the virtual environment. In effect we want to re-write the scenario every time we use the environment and to ensure that its behavior exactly duplicates the behavior of the real tissue. If this can be achieved then VR systems can be used not only to train surgeons but also to rehearse individual procedures where variations in anatomy or pathology present specific surgical problems. The European Union has recently funded a multinational 3-year project (IERAPSI, Integrated Environment for Rehearsal and Planning of Surgical Interventions) to produce a virtual reality system for surgical training and for rehearsing individual procedures. Building the IERAPSI system will bring together a wide range of experts and combine the latest technologies to produce a true, patient specific virtual reality surgical simulator for petrous/temporal bone procedures. This article presents a review of the “state of the art” technologies currently available to construct a system of this type and an overview of the functionality and specifications such a system requires

Interactive assembly simulation with haptic feedback

Purpose – The paper aims to present interactive simulation with haptic feedback as a valid method for solving complex assembly problems in the context of industrial product development. Its purpose is to clarify the position of interactive simulation with respect to other methods, and to emphasize its specific value for design engineers. Design/methodology/approach – The paper describes the challenges faced by design engineers in the context of design for assembly and assembly process planning. It introduces and compares automatic path planning and interactive simulation as two different approaches for checking the feasibility of assembly tasks. It provides a review of the scientific challenges and technical issues faced when implementing interactive simulation with haptic feedback in this context. It presents recent research results in the domains of final insertion and human model simulation. Findings – The paper provides an overview of the scientific, technological and practical aspects of interactive simulation with haptic feedback. It explains how this method benefits from the manual skills and cognitive capabilities of the human operator for solving complex assembly problems. It proposes an assessment of the technical maturity using the Technology Readiness Level approach. Originality/value – The paper gives insights about the maturity and usability of interactive assembly simulation with haptic feedback, for the benefit of design engineers seeking new ways to decrease product development time and costs while increasing quality

Virtual Reality Games for Motor Rehabilitation

This paper presents a fuzzy logic based method to track user satisfaction without the need for devices to monitor users physiological conditions. User satisfaction is the key to any product’s acceptance; computer applications and video games provide a unique opportunity to provide a tailored environment for each user to better suit their needs. We have implemented a non-adaptive fuzzy logic model of emotion, based on the emotional component of the Fuzzy Logic Adaptive Model of Emotion (FLAME) proposed by El-Nasr, to estimate player emotion in UnrealTournament 2004. In this paper we describe the implementation of this system and present the results of one of several play tests. Our research contradicts the current literature that suggests physiological measurements are needed. We show that it is possible to use a software only method to estimate user emotion

Réalité Augmentée et Environnement Collaboratif : Un Tour d'Horizon

National audienceLa Réalité Augmentée (RA) est généralement définie comme une branche dérivée de la Réalité Virtuelle. D'une façon plus générale, le concept de réalité augmentée regroupe une approche multidisciplinaire visant un mélange entre réel et virtuel. La forte potentialité induite par cette connexion promet un cadre adéquat pour l'interaction 3D ou les applications collaboratives. On présente dans cet article un tour d'horizon des principaux travaux menés à ce jour dans le cadre de l'image et de la RA et plus particulièrement le cadre collaboratif

Towards an efficient haptic rendering using data-driven modeling

This thesis focuses on the optimisation of haptic rendering of interactions with deformable models. The research demonstrated that data-driven techniques can produce a real-time, accurate and complex simulation experience. Applications include, but not limited to, virtual training, rapid prototyping, virtual presence, and entertainment