Char4VR

Summary

Virtual reality opens the possibility of creating narrative experiences that combine the richness of film or theater with direct interaction between users and autonomous virtual characters. Rather than following a fully predetermined sequence, participants can observe a story unfold around them, interact with its characters and potentially influence parts of the narrative.

A key challenge is that conventional character animation techniques, largely developed for video games, do not always support the subtle and multimodal interactions that users naturally expect in immersive VR. Virtual characters need to respond convincingly to a user’s presence, movements and behavior while remaining consistent with the narrative.

The project explores new approaches to interactive character animation aimed at creating more engaging and believable virtual characters. It combines methods from computer graphics, machine learning and cognitive psychology to investigate how autonomous characters can move, react and interact naturally with users within immersive narrative environments.

Related Publications

Llobera J, Charbonnier C. Physics-based character animation and human motor control, Phys Life Rev, 46:190–219, 2023.
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Llobera J, Jacquat V, Calabrese C, Charbonnier C. Playing the mirror game in virtual reality with an autonomous character, Sci Rep, 12:21329, 2022.
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Llobera J, Charbonnier C. Physics-based character animation for Virtual Reality, Open Access Tools and Libraries for Virtual Reality, IEEE VR Workshop, 2022 Best Open Source Tool Award, March, 2022.
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Llobera J, Booth J, Charbonnier C. Physics-based character animation controllers for videogame and virtual reality production, 14th ACM SIGGRAPH Conference on Motion, Interaction and Games, November, 2021.
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Llobera J, Booth J, Charbonnier C. New Techniques in Interactive Character Animation, SIGGRAPH ’21: short course, ACM, New York, NY, USA, 16:1–6, August, 2021.
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Llobera J, Charbonnier C. Interactive Characters for Virtual Reality Stories, ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences (IMX 2021), ACM, New York, NY, USA, 322–325, June, 2021.
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