Publication Type

Conference Proceeding Article

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

12-2012

Abstract

Co-Space refers to interactive virtual environment modelled after the real world in terms of look-and-feel, functionalities and services. We have developed a 3D virtual world named Nan yang Technological University (NTU) Co-Space populated with virtual human characters. Three key requirements of realistic virtual humans in the virtual world have been identified, namely (1) autonomy: agents can function on their own, (2) interactivity: agents can interact naturally with players, and (3) personality: agents can exhibit human traits and characteristics. Working towards these challenges, we propose a brain-inspired agent architecture that integrates goal-directed autonomy, natural language interaction and human-like personality. We conducted an evaluative study involving human subjects to assess how virtual characters may enhance user experience in the virtual world. The results show that the fusion ART-based virtual humans receive significantly higher ratings in various performance measures related to user experience, especially Telepresence, Perceived Interactivity and Flow.

Keywords

co-space, evaluation, virtual character

Discipline

Artificial Intelligence and Robotics | Databases and Information Systems

Research Areas

Data Science and Engineering; Intelligent Systems and Optimization

Publication

Proceedings of the IEEE/WIC/ACM International Conference on Intelligent Agent Technology (IAT 2012)

Volume

2

Identifier

10.1109/WI-IAT.2012.130

Publisher

IEEE

City or Country

Macau, China

Share

COinS