- Time & Location: April 2, 2019 at 10:00 AM in University Tower 650A
- Title: Mediated Physicality: Inducing Illusory Physicality of Virtual Humans via Their Interactions with Physical Objects
- The term virtual human (VH) generally refers to a human-like entity comprised of computer graphics and/or physical
body. In the associated research literature, a VH can be further classified as an avatar-a human-controlled VH, or an
agent-a computer-controlled VH. Because of the resemblance with humans, people naturally distinguish them from
non-human objects, and often treat them in ways similar to real humans (RHs). Sometimes the people develop a sense
of co-presence or social presence with the VH-a phenomenon that is often exploited for training simulations where the
VH assumes the role of a human.
Prior research associated with VHs has primarily focused on the realism of various visual traits, e.g., appearance, shape,
and gestures. However, our sense of the presence of other humans is also affected by other physical sensations
conveyed through nearby space or physical objects. For example, we humans can perceive the presence of other
individuals via the sound or tactile sensation of approaching footsteps, or by the presence of complementary or opposing
forces when carrying a physical box with another person.
In my research, I exploit the fact that these sensations, when correlated with events in the shared space, affect one’s
feeling of social/co-presence with another person. In this dissertation, I introduce novel methods for utilizing direct and
indirect physical-virtual interactions with VHs to increase the sense of social/co-presence with the VHs-an approach I
refer to as mediated physicality. I present results from controlled user studies, in various virtual environment settings,
that support the idea that mediated physicality can increase a user’s sense of social/co-presence with the VH, and/or
induced realistic social behavior. I discuss relationships to prior research, possible explanations for my findings, and
areas for future research. - Major: Computer Science
- Educational Career:
- Bachelor’s of Electrical Engineering, BS, 2007, Ajou University
- Master’s of Computer Science and Engineering, MS, 2009, Korea University
- Master’s of Computer Science, MS, 2016, University of Central Florida
- Committee in Charge:
- Gregory F. Welch, Chair, Computer Science
- Pamela J. Wisniewski, Computer Science
- Charles E. Hughes, Computer Science
- Gerd Bruder, Institute for Simulation and Training
- R. Paul Wiegand, Institute for Simulation and Training
