Related papers: Effects of Coupling in Human-Virtual Agent Body In…
Virtual and robotic agents capable of perceiving human empathy have the potential to participate in engaging and meaningful human-machine interactions that support human well-being. Prior research in computational empathy has focused on…
The use of motion capture in live dance performances has created an emerging discipline enabling dancers to play different avatars on the digital stage. Unlike classical workflows, avatars enable performers to act as different characters in…
In order to create effective storytelling agents three fundamental questions must be answered: first, is a physically embodied agent preferable to a virtual agent or a voice-only narration? Second, does a human voice have an advantage over…
3D Virtual Human technology is growing with several potential applications in health, education, business and telecommunications. Investigating the perception of these virtual humans can help guide to develop better and more effective…
As social VR grows in popularity, understanding how to optimise interactions becomes increasingly important. Interpersonal distance (the physical space people maintain between each other) is a key aspect of user experience. Previous work in…
Virtual humans need to be persuasive in order to promote behaviour change in human users. While several studies have focused on understanding the numerous aspects that influence the degree of persuasion, most of them are limited to dyadic…
In immersive Virtual Reality (VR), your brain can trick you into believing that your virtual hands are your real hands. Manipulating the representation of the body, namely the avatar, is a potentially powerful tool for the design of…
With the advancements in social robotics and virtual avatars, it becomes increasingly important that these agents adapt their behavior to the mood, feelings and personality of their users. One such aspect of the user is empathy. Whereas…
Designing artificial cyber-agents able to interact with human safely, smartly and in a natural way is a current open problem in control. Solving such an issue will allow the design of cyber-agents capable of co-operatively interacting with…
Physical inactivity remains a critical global health issue, yet scalable strategies for sustained motivation are scarce. Conversational agents designed as simulated exercising peers (SEPs) represent a promising alternative, but their…
Simulations are gaining increasingly significance in the field of autonomous driving due to the demand for rapid prototyping and extensive testing. Employing physics-based simulation brings several benefits at an affordable cost, while…
Engaging in playful activities, such as playing a musical instrument, learning a language, or performing sports, is a fundamental aspect of human life. We present a quantitative empirical analysis of the engagement dynamics into playful…
We present Project IRL (In Real Life), a suite of five mobile apps we created to explore novel ways of supporting in-person social interactions with augmented reality. In recent years, the tone of public discourse surrounding digital…
With the proliferation of consumer virtual reality (VR) headsets and creative tools, content creators have started to experiment with new forms of interactive audience experience using immersive media. Understanding user attention and…
This paper extends recent work in interactive machine learning (IML) focused on effectively incorporating human feedback. We show how control and feedback signals complement each other in systems which model human reward. We demonstrate…
Digital platforms increasingly support collective action initiatives, yet coordinating geographically dispersed users through digital interfaces remains challenging, particularly in threshold settings where success requires critical mass…
The usage of virtual avatars in healthcare applications has become widely popular; however, certain critical aspects, such as social distancing and avatar size, remain insufficiently explored. This research investigates user experience and…
In this paper, we present a study aimed at understanding whether the embodiment and humanlikeness of an artificial agent can affect people's spontaneous and instructed mimicry of its facial expressions. The study followed a mixed…
This study is the first to explore the interplay between haptic interaction and avatar representation in Shared Virtual Environments (SVEs). Specifically, how these factors shape users' sense of social presence during dyadic collaborations,…
Multi-agent AI systems, which simulate diverse instructional roles such as teachers and peers, offer new possibilities for personalized and interactive learning. Yet, student-AI interaction patterns and their pedagogical implications remain…