Agent-based virtual humans in co-space: An evaluative study

• Main Authors: KANG, Yilin, TAN, Ah-Hwee, NAH, Fiona Fui-hoon
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2012
• Subjects: 3D virtual worlds; Agent architectures; Co-Space; Evaluation; Interactive virtual environments; Natural language interaction; Performance measure; Virtual character; Artificial Intelligence and Robotics; Graphics and Human Computer Interfaces
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sis_research/9475; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sis_research/article/10475/viewcontent/Agent_based_virtual_humans_in_co_space__An_evaluative_study.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Co-Space refers to interactive virtual environment modelled after the real world in terms of look-and-feel, functionalities and services. We have developed a 3D virtual world named Nanyang Technological University (NTU) CoSpace populated with virtual human characters. Three key requirements of realistic virtual humans in the virtual world have been identified, namely (1) autonomy: agents can function on their own; (2) interactivity: agents can interact naturally with players; and (3) personality: agents can exhibit human traits and characteristics. Working towards these challenges, we propose a brain-inspired agent architecture that integrates goal-directed autonomy, natural language interaction and human-like personality. We conducted an evaluative study involving human subjects to assess how virtual characters may enhance user experience in the virtual world. The results show that the fusion ART-based virtual humans receive significantly higher ratings in various performance measures related to user experience, especially Telepresence, Perceived Interactivity and Flow.