PedVR: simulating gaze-based interactions between a real user and virtual crowds

We present a novel interactive approach, PedVR, to generate plausible behaviors for a large number of virtual humans, and to enable natural interaction between the real user and virtual agents. Our formulation is based on a coupled approach that combines a 2D multi-agent navigation algorithm with 3D human motion synthesis. The coupling can result in plausible movement of virtual agents and can generate gazing behaviors, which can considerably increase the believability. We have integrated our formulation with the DK-2 HMD and demonstrate the benefits of our crowd simulation algorithm over prior decoupled approaches. Our user evaluation suggests that the combination of coupled methods and gazing behavior can considerably increase the behavioral plausibility.