Communications of the ACM
Gestures Improve Communication, Even With Robots
The use of well-known hand gestures in addition to speech makes robot avatars easier to understand, according to a new study.
Credit: Paul Bremner
A new study by researchers in the U.K. found it is easier for people to understand robot avatars when they use "iconic" hand gestures together with speech.
Moreover, people are able to understand avatars using such multi-modal communication as well as they do other humans.
Scientists Paul Bremner and Ute Leonards used a Microsoft Kinect sensor to track the arm gestures of a human actor, and then an avatar used the recorded data to mimic the movements. Bremner and Leonards filmed the human actor reading out a series of phrases while performing specific gestures, and then filmed the avatar using these recorded phrases and mimicking the gestures. Experiment participants watched the video and tried to identify what the human and avatar were trying to communicate.
The researchers say getting a message across with an avatar is more important than ever. They note avatars are used by millions of people worldwide, and now are employed to entertain, teach, sell products, and solve problems.
From Science Daily
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