Mediated Physicality: Inducing Illusory Physicality of a Virtual Human via Environmental Objects

A physical embodiment of a virtual human has shown benefits in applications that involve social interaction with virtual humans. However, it often incorporates cumbersome haptic devices or robotic bodies. In this position paper, we first discuss our motivation for utilizing a surrounding environment in human-virtual human interaction and present our preliminary studies and results. Considering the previous studies and related literature, we define the concept of Mediated Physicality for virtual humans, which utilizes environmental objects to increase perceived physicality of the virtual humans, and discuss fundamental aspects of the Mediated Physicality as well as future research plans.