{"title":"Evaluation of Omnipresent Virtual Agents Embedded as Temporarily Required Assistants in Immersive Environments","authors":"Andrea Bönsch, Jan Hoffmann, J. Wendt, T. Kuhlen","doi":"10.1109/VHCIE.2019.8714726","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/VHCIE.2019.8714726","url":null,"abstract":"When designing the behavior of embodied, computer-controlled, human-like virtual agents (VA) serving as temporarily required assistants in virtual reality applications, two linked factors have to be considered: the time the VA is visible in the scene, defined as presence time (PT), and the time till the VA is actually available for support on a user's calling, defined as approaching time (AT). Complementing a previous research on behaviors with a low VA's PT, we present the results of a controlled within-subjects study investigating behaviors by which the VA is always visible, i.e., behaviors with a high PT. The two behaviors affecting the AT tested are: following, a design in which the VA is omnipresent and constantly follows the users, and busy, a design in which the VA is self-reliantly spending time nearby the users and approaches them only if explicitly asked for. The results indicate that subjects prefer thefollowing VA, a behavior which also leads to slightly lower execution times compared to busy.","PeriodicalId":363540,"journal":{"name":"2019 IEEE Virtual Humans and Crowds for Immersive Environments (VHCIE)","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122231492","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ulysses Bernardet, S. Kanq, Andrew W. Feng, S. DiPaola, Ari Shapiro
{"title":"Speech Breathing in Virtual Humans: An Interactive Model and Empirical Study","authors":"Ulysses Bernardet, S. Kanq, Andrew W. Feng, S. DiPaola, Ari Shapiro","doi":"10.1109/VHCIE.2019.8714737","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/VHCIE.2019.8714737","url":null,"abstract":"Human speech production requires the dynamic regulation of air through the vocal system. While virtual character systems commonly are capable of speech output, they rarely take breathing during speaking - speech breathing - into account. We believe that integrating dynamic speech breathing systems in virtual characters can significantly contribute to augmenting their realism. Here, we present a novel control architecture aimed at generating speech breathing in virtual characters. This architecture is informed by behavioral, linguistic and anatomical knowledge of human speech breathing. Based on textual input and controlled by a set of low-and high-level parameters, the system produces dynamic signals in real-time that control the virtual character's anatomy (thorax, abdomen, head, nostrils, and mouth) and sound production (speech and breathing). In addition, we perform a study to determine the effects of including breathing-motivated speech movements, such as head tilts and chest expansions during dialogue on a virtual character, as well as breathing sounds. This study includes speech that is generated both from a text-to-speech engine as well as from recorded voice.","PeriodicalId":363540,"journal":{"name":"2019 IEEE Virtual Humans and Crowds for Immersive Environments (VHCIE)","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122197539","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Andrea Bönsch, A. Kies, Moritz Jörling, Stefanie Paluch, T. Kuhlen
{"title":"An Empirical Lab Study Investigating if Higher Levels of Immersion Increase the Willingness to Donate","authors":"Andrea Bönsch, A. Kies, Moritz Jörling, Stefanie Paluch, T. Kuhlen","doi":"10.1109/VHCIE.2019.8714622","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/VHCIE.2019.8714622","url":null,"abstract":"Technological innovations have a growing relevance for charitable donations, as new technologies shape the way we perceive and approach digital media. In a between-subjects study with sixty-one volunteers, we investigated whether a higher degree of immersion for the potential donor can yield more donations for non-governmental organizations. Therefore, we compared the donations given after experiencing a video-based, an augmented-reality-based, or a virtual-reality-based scenery with a virtual agent, representing a war victimized Syrian boy talking about his losses. Our initial results indicate that the immersion has no impact. However, the donor's perceived innovativeness of the used technology might be an influencing factor.","PeriodicalId":363540,"journal":{"name":"2019 IEEE Virtual Humans and Crowds for Immersive Environments (VHCIE)","volume":"14 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133120683","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Augmented and Virtual Reality Interfaces for Crowd Simulation Software-A Position Statement for Research on Use-Case-Dependent Interaction","authors":"Wolfgang Hürst, Roland Geraerts","doi":"10.1109/VHCIE.2019.8714733","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/VHCIE.2019.8714733","url":null,"abstract":"In this position paper, we claim that immersive technologies, such as Augmented and Virtual Reality, are well-suited interfaces for the usage of crowd simulation software in different contexts. We introduce three use cases; planning, awareness creation, and education. Based on an overview of different Augmented and Virtual Reality approaches, we identify the ones most suitable for each of the three scenarios and illustrate related implementations. Initial observations with their usage confirm our statements, but also highlight areas to explore with future research.","PeriodicalId":363540,"journal":{"name":"2019 IEEE Virtual Humans and Crowds for Immersive Environments (VHCIE)","volume":"6 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123023666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}