Design and implementation of Cyber Assistant Professor: CAP

Abstract

To reduce the production cost of 3DCG educational contents for e-learning system and to improve the capability of self-learning system, we have developed a new self-learning system based on the Cyber Person. Cyber Person is a human shaped software robot using 3DCG and speech synthesis technologies. This system includes 3DCG stage, many kinds of stage parts (3DCG shaped models, photographs or text panels) and Cyber Person(s). Because Cyber Person acts as a virtual teacher, we named it Cyber Assistant Professor (CAP). The educational contents of CAP can be written by Script Language named Cyber Person Scenario Language 2 (CPSL2). CPSL2 is a tag-based hypertext language like a HTML, which describes a scenario of 3DCG interactive animation. CAP Browser converts this scenario file to the realtime interactive 3DCG animation, which is not a rendering movie. CAP can instruct the educational subject by using body action, facial expression and voice speaking. And many stage parts also can move simultaneously corresponding to the CAP's instruction. Sometimes, CAP shows the question to the learner and learner has to answer by clicking the specified stage parts, e.g. selects the correct answer or enters the number. Consequently, CAP can change the scenario of 3DCG animation or load the external scenario file. By using CAP system, we have developed some teaching materials for elementary school pupils. This paper describes the detail of CAP system and CPSL2.