ForEVR · Appealing Character Design for Embodied Virtual Reality
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2021-09-01 → 2023-08-31
- EU contribution
- €184,708
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Appealing Character Design for Embodied Virtual Reality
The overall objective of the ForEVR project was to create appealing characters which will be appropriate for serious, non-entertainment applications in virtual reality (VR). In order to create appeal, most designers resort to using stereotypical representations of characters which can be harmful to specific populations of users. This can be especially problematic when using the characters for non-serious applications, such as virtual therapy with vulnerable subjects. In order to resolve this issue, the ForEVR project investigated the ability of the character body motion to convey appealing personalities and non-threatening behaviour. The project aimed to create an embodied VR (EVR) protocol to produce a highly immersive and transformative experience, able to induce strong emotional and behavioural response to the character and situation. The project has achieved this overall objective by identifying particular features in human motion which affect human behaviour in EVR which indicate higher/lower levels of appeal of the virtual character. The results of this project specifically aid the development of better scenarios for VR therapy and training but are also relevant for the emerging communication platforms, such as the Metaverse.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
The ForEVR project is focused on delivering a radically improved interaction with another user or virtual character in immersive Embodied Virtual Reality (EVR). EVR offers the possibility of interacting with another in a computer-generated world by using virtual humans, and the interaction can closely resemble real-life, physical interaction. Embodied virtual interaction creates a powerful illusion of presence with another and is a valuable candidate for the alternative to physical meetings. A strikingly overlooked problem of such interactive systems is the representation of humans in virtual environments. Current designs are driven by commercial models, which are frequently subjected to bias and are not appropriate for non-entertainment applications. On the other hand, characters which appear almost human can cause discomfort and negative evaluation from the users. Since virtual reality can induce realistic responses in people, inappropriate character representations can have psychologically damaging effects on the users. The ForEVR project proposes a radical approach to solving the problem of character design by focusing on the appeal of character motion to compensate for the issues created by the realistic appearance. It will employ rigorous methods to define, implement and evaluate motion processing techniques for realistic characters in order to improve their overall appeal, while being suitable for non-entertainment applications. Users’ response to the characters will be evaluated using standard measures from psychology and novel measures of EVR. The ForEVR project joins interdisciplinary (psychology/computer graphics) and involves one of the foremost research institutes with the research team specializing in creating behavior for autonomous virtual humans, while collaborating with an industry partner who is developing EVR for mental health and rehabilitation applications. This project will help me achieve academic independence needed for a tenure position.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- INSTITUT NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE EN INFORMATIQUE ET AUTOMATIQUE · Le Chesnay CedexCoordinatorFrance
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union