An embodied virtual communication system for human interaction sharing

An embodied virtual face-to-face communication system with two types of avatars for human interaction sharing is developed: one is a virtual actor (VA) as a human avatar which represents human behavior; the other is a virtual wave (VW) as an abstract avatar in which human behavior is simplified as a wave to clarify an essential role of interaction. The effectiveness of the system is demonstrated by the sensory evaluation and behavioral analysis of the communication experiment in 10 pairs of 20 male talkers. The system provides a networked virtual communication environment in which two remote talkers can share embodied interaction by observing their interaction of VAs or VWs including themselves in the same virtual space. The system would form the foundation of information media and communication technologies as well as the methodology for the analysis and understanding of various human interactions.