Designing a non-verbal language for expressive avatars

Abstract

Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVEs) were designed as an expansion of the text-based chat room, rather than a novel application, exploiting the possibilities of online three dimensional graphical space. This initial design direction is observable at the interface level. We put forward the case that to achieve an efficient CVE system, one will have to design and implement a multi modal User Interface based on expressive Avatars as a representation of the different participants, also as an embodiment of software agents. We emphasise the expressiveness of the avatar as a crucial improvement to the efficiency of their communication capabilities, and we describe a vocabulary of expressions to be implemented. We put forward the case that to be more efficient, particularly during a dialogue, an avatar is required to play a role in the communication using non-verbal channels such as body postures, facial expressions and hand gestures. We also suggest conversation circles to facilitate the gathering of participants in a discussion. These circles will address navigation difficulties in CVEs and encourage social exchanges.