Avatar Markup Language

Synchronization of speech, facial expressions and body gestures is one of the most critical problems in realistic avatar animation in virtual environments. In this paper, we address this problem by proposing a new high-level animation language to describe avatar animation. The Avatar Markup Language (AML), based on XML, encapsulates the Text to Speech, Facial Animation and Body Animation in a unified manner with appropriate synchronization. We use low-level animation parameters, defined by the MPEG-4 standard, to demonstrate the use of the AML. However, the AML itself is independent of any low-level parameters as such. AML can be effectively used by intelligent software agents to control their 3D graphical representations in the virtual environments. With the help of the associated tools, AML also facilitates to create and share 3D avatar animations quickly and easily. We also discuss how the language has been developed and used within the SoNG project framework. The tools developed to use AML in a real-time animation system incorporating intelligent agents and 3D avatars are also discussed subsequently.