An embodied video communication system in which own VirtualActor is superimposed for virtual face-to-face scene

We have demonstrated the importance of sharing the embodied interaction in communication by using the embodied virtual communication system in which talkers can share the same virtual space through VirtualActors as their avatars that represent their interactive behavior. This present paper proposes the concept of an embodied video communication system in which a VirtualActor is superimposed on the other talker's video image, and develops the system. Sensory evaluation and human interaction analysis demonstrate the effectiveness of the system in communication experiment of comparison with the scene in which a reduced own video image is superimposed on the other talker's video image. The system provides a new transmission of interaction awareness for human communication.