演講者: Sabarish V. Babu, Associate Professor, Clemson University

演講主題: From Emotional Interactions to Educational Experiences with Virtual Humans in Virtual Reality Simulations

地點: EC115

時間: 10:10~11:20, Jan. 3 (Tues.) 2017

 

Abstract: 

 

In this talk, I will present recent results of two research projects involving interactive virtual humans from the Virtual Environments Group at Clemson University that were presented at the IEEE International Conference on Virtual Reality 2016. Realistic versus stylized depictions of virtual humans in simulated inter-personal situations and their ability to elicit emotional responses in users has been an open question for artists and researchers alike. We empirically evaluated the effects of realistic vs. non-realistic stylized appearance of virtual humans on the emotional response of participants in a medical virtual reality system that was designed to educate users in recognizing the signs and symptoms of patient deterioration. In social emotional constructs of shyness, presence, perceived personality, and enjoyment-joy, we found that participants responded differently in the visually realistic condition as compared to cartoon and sketch conditions. Implications of the results to inter-personal social simulations are discussed. In another project, we detail the design, implementation, and initial evaluation of a virtual reality education and entertainment application called Virtual Environment Interactions (VEnvI), in which students learn computer science concepts through the process of choreographing movement for a virtual character using a fun and intuitive interface. Participants programmatically crafted a dance performance for a virtual human and participated in an immersive embodied interaction metaphor in VEnvI. We qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated the extent to which the activities within VEnvI facilitated students’ edutainment, presence, interest, excitement, and engagement in computing, and the potential to alter their perceptions of computing and computer scientists.

Short bio:

 

Sabarish “Sab” Babu is an Associate Professor in the Division of Human Centered Computing in the School of Computing at Clemson University in the USA. He received his BS, MS and PhD from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Iowa prior to joining Clemson University. His research interests are in the areas of virtual environments, applied perception in graphics and visualization, educational virtual reality, and 3D human computer interaction. He has authored or co-authored over 65 peer-reviewed publications in premiere venues sponsored by IEEE and ACM. He was the general chair of the IEEE International Conference on Virtual Reality (IEEE VR) 2016, the premiere international venue for VR research. He currently serves as a program chair for IEEE VR 2017. His research is sponsored by the US National Science Foundation, US Department of Labor, St. Francis and Medline Medical Foundations, and has received over US $1.5 million in external funding as a PI or Co-PI on several research projects related to virtual reality.