Facial reconstruction and animation in tele-immersive environment

Alvi, O

Abstract

Over the last decade, research in Human Computer Interaction has focused on the
development of interfaces that leverage the users' pre-existing skills and expectations from
the real world, rather than requiring them to adapt to the constraints of technology driven
design. In the context of remote collaboration or communication interfaces, the ultimate goal
has been to develop interfaces that will allow remote participants to interact with each other
in a human sense, as if they were co-located or in a face-to-face meeting.
Research in social psychology has shown that the face is an important channel in non-verbal
communication and real world interactions. Non-verbal cues that come from the face are the
basis for building trust and professional intimacy and are critical for collaboration,
negotiation, persuasion and communication. This research investigated the challenges of
bringing non-verbal cues conveyed by the face into a communication interface. To meet these
challenges, the proposed system allowed participants to convey the most distinctive nonverbal cues by using three different modes; point cloud, dynamic texture mapping and
geometric deformation. A human factor evaluation was undertaken to find out how
realistically these non-verbal cues could be expressed by the personalized avatar of the
participant.

Citation

Alvi, O. Facial reconstruction and animation in tele-immersive environment. (Thesis). Salford : University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Oct 3, 2012
• Award Date: Jan 1, 2010