Web-based avatar represented lecture viewer toward interactive e-Lecture performed by 3D avatar

Abstract

To introduce interactivity in e-learning, HTML5 and JavaScript have been widely used for years. And recent advancements of WebGL, JavaScript API for computer graphic programming that works on any modern browsers, enable us to draw animations of a fully human-like embodied computer graphics character on web-browsers. With these technologies, web-based e-learning could be more interactive. We propose interactive e-Lecture, where lecturers' three dimensional motions and audio are captured by a motion capture system, then a 3D avatar interactively performs the lecture. The advantage of the use of computer graphics character to perform lectures instead of videos is that e-learning designers can introduce interaction into the e-learning. For example, by controlling the avatar's head and eye movements according to the results of face-recognition, the eye-gaze behavior could be realized. We recorded 3D motions of a lecture performed by a volunteer with a motion capture system, and created a small lecture data. We also developed a web-based viewer that can process the 3D motion data and draw a lecture performed by a 3D avatar on a web-browser.