MaxinePPT : Using 3 D Virtual Characters for Natural Interaction

New ways of interaction are arising from the Ambient Intelligence areas. Multimodal interaction with virtual characters is changing the way we communicate and interact with applications and other users. This paper describes an animation engine developed with open source tools and based in the use of scripts that allows the management of scenes and the work with virtual actors. This animation engine is used for the development of an application for the generation of PowerPoint-like presentations enriched with a 3D virtual character. The presentation allows to shows the content of the slides and uses the virtual avatar to communicate with the audience using its voice, its expressions and lip-synch. At the end of the presentation, at the time of questions, there can be interaction between the audience and the user via the virtual avatar.

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