Role Playing

When we read novels, watch movies, or play games, we immerse ourselves in the characters and experience their worlds. Similarly, when we work, play, or post on social media, we recognize our roles in each situation and behave as if we are playing those roles.

This research focuses on enhancing the sense of role-playing and creating mechanisms to bring out abilities appropriate to those roles. It can promote deeper immersion for players in live performances and games.

Groovy Walking

We proposed and evaluated a system that aims to reduce VR sickness by using rhythmic head movements as walking input in a VR environment with a head-mounted display.

Investigation of Impressions Given by Gaze Aversion Behavior

We examined the effect of incorporating gaze aversion behavior during turn-taking in dialogue agents, demonstrating that it creates intelligent and natural impressions. The importance of nonverbal gestures was clarified through mock interviews and dialogue experiments.

Investigation of Appropriate Nodding Frequency According to Audience Size

In a VR virtual audience system using a speech-driven nodding generation model, we found that applying the nodding frequency adjusted for a single virtual audience member to multiple audience members results in excessive nodding. Through experiments, we demonstrated that reducing the nodding frequency as the audience size increases creates a more natural impression.

Pose Input Support System for 3D Avatars Using Simple Motion Capture Devices

When operating 3DCG avatars with VR equipment, it is difficult to input poses suitable for avatars with different appearances from real-world users due to user skill and device constraints. In this research, we proposed a support system that allows users to input target poses easily and accurately by continuously blending between target poses and user input postures.

Immersive Class Video System to Facilitate Learners' Conformity through Interactive Lectures

In online lectures, learners tend to be passive and struggle to maintain learning motivation. In this research, we developed a VR system that allows learners to participate as one of the students in a virtual interactive classroom space.

VR Rakugo

The virtual rakugo theater system uses VR technology to enable even beginners to experience speaking rakugo in a karaoke-like manner. By imitating hand gestures and lines while watching model videos from professional rakugo performers, users can elicit reactions from audience characters and reproduce the feeling of “making them laugh.”

VR System for Experiencing Historical Presentations with Virtual Audiences

A VR system that allows users to relive famous historical speeches and presentations as if they were the speakers themselves. Users can experience historical presentations in an environment with virtual audiences, following subtitle prompts and gesture instructions.