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Supporting Co-Presence in Populated Virtual Environments by Actor Takeover of Animated Characters

Zhang, J; Brandstatter, K; Steed, A; (2023) Supporting Co-Presence in Populated Virtual Environments by Actor Takeover of Animated Characters. In: 2023 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR). (pp. pp. 940-949). IEEE: Sydney, Australia. Green open access

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Abstract

Online social virtual worlds are now becoming widely available on consumer devices including virtual reality headsets. One goal of a virtual world could be to give a user an experience of a crowded environment with many virtual humans. However, gathering enough personnel to control the necessary number of avatars for creating a realistic scene is usually difficult. Additionally, current technology is not capable of fully simulating avatars with behaviours, especially when interaction with users is required. In this paper, we develop a system that enables an actor to take over control of one of a set of avatars. We built an immersive interface that allows an actor to select an avatar to take over and then segue into the currently playing animation. By allowing one person to take control of multiple avatars, we can enhance the plausibility of environments inhabited by simulated characters. In an experiment, we show that in a cafe scenario, one actor can take over the roles of a barista and two customers. Experiment participants reported experiencing the scene as if it were populated by more than one actor. This system and experiment demonstrate the feasibility of one actor controlling multiple avatars sequentially, thus enhancing users' feelings of being in a populated environment.

Type: Proceedings paper
Title: Supporting Co-Presence in Populated Virtual Environments by Actor Takeover of Animated Characters
Event: 2023 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR)
Dates: 16 Oct 2023 - 20 Oct 2023
ISBN-13: 9798350328387
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1109/ISMAR59233.2023.00110
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ismar59233.2023.00110
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Headphones, Avatars, Virtual environments, Animation, Personnel, Augmented reality
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Computer Science
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10184981
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