Avatars are a core element of
ICSpace, the virtual fitness and movement environment at Bielefeld University's
Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC). The system
makes it possible to practise and improve motion sequences by providing
individualised feedback in real time. The system is embodied by a virtual
person acting as a coach. In addition, users see themselves as avatars -
virtual copies of themselves in the mirror of the virtual room. The creation of
such personalised avatars used to take several days, but CITEC researchers have
now developed an accelerated process.
In order to create avatars for
the ICSpace system, the researchers scan people. The computer scientists use a
circular array of 40 DSLR cameras to photograph the respective person from all
sides and use these images to compute several million three-dimensional sample
points on the person's body. A generic virtual human model is fitted to this
data in such a way that it corresponds to the shape and appearance of the
person scanned. The resulting virtual people can be animated in detail: they
can move all joints, even individual fingers, and communicate through facial
expressions, speech and gestures.
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