From talking to thinking heads: report 2008

The Thinking Head project has as it aims to develop (i) a new generation Talking Thinking Head that embodies human attributes, and improves human-machine interaction; and (ii) a plug-and-play research platform for users to test software in an interactive real-time environment. Here, project progress is discussed in terms of the four teams: 1. Head Building – (i) Plug-and-Play architecture, (ii) Thinking Media Framework, and (iii) Animation; 2. Human-Head Interaction (HHI) – (i) Wizard of Oz studies, and (ii) joint attention by human and head; 3. Evaluation; and 4. Performance in (i) the Beijing Head and (ii) the Pedestal Head. Directions for future research are outlined as appropriate. Index Terms: talking heads, human-computer interaction, evaluation, performance