Content Creation and Authoring Challenges for Virtual Environments: From User Interfaces to Autonomous Virtual Characters

How is content for virtual environments (VEs) created? How is behavior and motion in VEs specified? How are user interfaces designed and implemented for VEs? Authoring is a crucial aspect for using VEs successfully. This chapter addresses some of the current challenges in authoring VEs and recent research directions that are being explored in order to address these challenges. One highly relevant use case is the definition of motions to be executed by virtual characters. For this, motion modeling interfaces are presented that facilitate the process of programming the motions of virtual agents in VEs.

[1]  Wolfgang Broll,et al.  Interactive Bits: Prototyping of Mixed Reality Applications and Interaction Techniques through Visual Programming , 2008, 2008 IEEE Symposium on 3D User Interfaces.

[2]  Matthew Stone,et al.  Speaking with hands: creating animated conversational characters from recordings of human performance , 2004, ACM Trans. Graph..

[3]  Dean Rubine,et al.  Specifying gestures by example , 1991, SIGGRAPH.

[4]  Jean Vanderdonckt,et al.  Distributed user interfaces , 2011, CHI EA '11.

[5]  Philippe A. Palanque,et al.  A model-based tool for interactive prototyping of highly interactive applications , 2002, CHI Extended Abstracts.

[6]  Douglas C. Schmidt,et al.  Object-oriented application frameworks , 1997, CACM.

[7]  Harald Reiterer,et al.  ZOIL: A Design Paradigm and Software Framework for Post-WIMP Distributed User Interfaces , 2011, Distributed User Interfaces.

[8]  Benoit M. Macq,et al.  Component-based high fidelity interactive prototyping of post-WIMP interactions , 2010, ICMI-MLMI '10.

[9]  Tony DeRose,et al.  Toolglass and magic lenses: the see-through interface , 1993, SIGGRAPH.

[10]  Ahmed Seffah,et al.  Tracing the evolution of HCI patterns as an interaction design tool , 2012, Innovations in Systems and Software Engineering.

[11]  Thomas Rist,et al.  What Are They Going to Talk About ? Towards Life-Like Characters that Reflect on Interactions with Users , 2002 .

[12]  Michael F. Cohen,et al.  Verbs and Adverbs: Multidimensional Motion Interpolation , 1998, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications.

[13]  Blair MacIntyre,et al.  DART: a toolkit for rapid design exploration of augmented reality experiences , 2005, ACM Trans. Graph..

[14]  Juan M. Orduña,et al.  A new AR authoring tool using depth maps for industrial procedures , 2013, Comput. Ind..

[15]  Masaaki Kurosu,et al.  Proceedings of the 15th international conference on Human-Computer Interaction: human-centred design approaches, methods, tools, and environments - Volume Part I , 2013 .

[16]  Debbie Richards,et al.  Developing an agent-based training simulation using game and virtual reality software: experience report , 2009 .

[17]  Jae Yeol Lee,et al.  Tangible authoring of 3D virtual scenes in dynamic augmented reality environment , 2011, Comput. Ind..

[18]  Yang Li,et al.  Gesture studio: authoring multi-touch interactions through demonstration and declaration , 2013, CHI.

[19]  Ralf Dörner,et al.  UTIL : Complex , Post-WIMP Human Computer Interaction with Complex Event Processing Methods , 2013 .

[20]  Carlo Camporesi,et al.  Interactive Motion Modeling and Parameterization by Direct Demonstration , 2010, IVA.

[21]  Peter-Pike J. Sloan,et al.  Artist‐Directed Inverse‐Kinematics Using Radial Basis Function Interpolation , 2001, Comput. Graph. Forum.

[22]  Mark Billinghurst,et al.  A 3D Flexible and Tangible Magic Lens in Augmented Reality , 2007, 2007 6th IEEE and ACM International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality.

[23]  Ralf Dörner,et al.  EMIL: A Rapid Prototyping Authoring Environment for the Design of Interactive Surface Applications , 2013, HCI.

[24]  Adam Cheyer,et al.  The Open Agent Architecture , 1997, Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems.

[25]  Stacy Marsella,et al.  SmartBody: behavior realization for embodied conversational agents , 2008, AAMAS.

[26]  Peng Li,et al.  View-based maintenance of graphical user interfaces , 2008, AOSD.

[27]  Ralf Dörner,et al.  A Component-based Authoring Environment for Creating Multimedia-RichMixed Reality , 2004, Eurographics Multimedia Workshop.

[28]  Frank P. Coyle.  Review of 'The power of events: An introduction to complex event processing in distributed enterprise systems,' by David Luckham, Addison Wesley Professional, May 2002 , 2003, UBIQ.

[29]  David Luckham,et al.  The power of events - an introduction to complex event processing in distributed enterprise systems , 2002, RuleML.

[30]  Marcelo Kallmann,et al.  Motion Parameterization with Inverse Blending , 2010, MIG.

[31]  Caitlin Kelleher,et al.  Lowering the barriers to programming: A taxonomy of programming environments and languages for novice programmers , 2005, CSUR.

[32]  Ralf Dörner,et al.  Three-dimensional Beans—creating Web content using 3D components in a 3D authoring environment , 2000, VRML '00.

[33]  Aaron Hertzmann,et al.  Active learning for real-time motion controllers , 2007, ACM Trans. Graph..

[34]  Ivan Marsic,et al.  A framework for rapid development of multimodal interfaces , 2003, ICMI '03.

[35]  Roman Rädle,et al.  Squidy: a zoomable design environment for natural user interfaces , 2009, CHI Extended Abstracts.

[36]  Alexandru Dancu,et al.  The Ultimate Display , 2014 .

[37]  Robert W. Lindeman,et al.  Towards usable VR: an empirical study of user interfaces for immersive virtual environments , 1999, CHI '99.

[38]  Steven K. Feiner,et al.  Authoring 3D hypermedia for wearable augmented and virtual reality , 2003, Seventh IEEE International Symposium on Wearable Computers, 2003. Proceedings..

[39]  Andries van Dam,et al.  Post-WIMP user interfaces , 1997, CACM.

[40]  Michel Beaudouin-Lafon,et al.  Instrumental interaction: an interaction model for designing post-WIMP user interfaces , 2000, CHI.

[41]  Marcelo Kallmann,et al.  Analytical inverse kinematics with body posture control , 2008, Comput. Animat. Virtual Worlds.

[42]  Lucas Kovar,et al.  Automated extraction and parameterization of motions in large data sets , 2004, ACM Trans. Graph..

[43]  Dieter Schmalstieg,et al.  APRIL: a high-level framework for creating augmented reality presentations , 2005, IEEE Proceedings. VR 2005. Virtual Reality, 2005..

[44]  Martina Ziefle,et al.  A pattern language for interactive tabletops in collaborative workspaces , 2010, EuroPLoP '10.

[45]  S. Hudson,et al.  CHI '08 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems , 2009, CHI 2009.

[46]  Ivan Poupyrev,et al.  3D User Interfaces: Theory and Practice , 2004 .

[47]  Beat Signer,et al.  Mudra: a unified multimodal interaction framework , 2011, ICMI '11.

[48]  Annika Hinze,et al.  Event-based applications and enabling technologies , 2009, DEBS '09.

[49]  Krzysztof Walczak,et al.  Building Virtual and Augmented Reality museum exhibitions , 2004, Web3D '04.

[50]  Tomohiko Mukai,et al.  Geostatistical motion interpolation , 2005, SIGGRAPH '05.

[51]  Stefan Kopp,et al.  Synthesizing multimodal utterances for conversational agents , 2004, Comput. Animat. Virtual Worlds.

[52]  Ralf Dörner,et al.  Authoring Support for Post-WIMP Applications , 2013, INTERACT.

[53]  Beat Signer,et al.  Midas: a declarative multi-touch interaction framework , 2010, TEI.

[54]  Yair Wand,et al.  Choosing classes in conceptual modeling , 1997, CACM.

[55]  Marcelo Kallmann,et al.  An Analysis of Motion Blending Techniques , 2012, MIG.

[56]  Stefan Kopp,et al.  Synthesizing multimodal utterances for conversational agents: Research Articles , 2004 .

[57]  Ralf Dörner,et al.  ETOILE - an Environment for Team, Organizational and Individual Learning in Emergencies , 2000, Proceedings IEEE 9th International Workshops on Enabling Technologies: Infrastructure for Collaborative Enterprises (WET ICE 2000).