Endowing animated virtual characters with emotionally expressive behaviors is paramount to improving the quality of the interactions between humans and virtual characters. Full-body motion, in particular, with its subtle kinematic variations, represents an effective way of conveying emotionally expressive content. However, before synthesizing expressive full-body movements, it is necessary to identify and understand what qualities of human motion are salient to the perception of emotions and how these qualities can be exploited to generate novel and equally expressive full-body movements. Based on previous studies, we argue that it is possible to perceive and generate expressive full-body movements from a limited set of joint trajectories, including end-effector trajectories and additional constraints such as pelvis and elbow trajectories. Hence, these selected trajectories define a significant and reduced motion space, which is adequate for the characterization of the expressive qualities of human motion and that is both suitable for the analysis and generation of emotionally expressive full-body movements. The purpose and main contribution of this work is the methodological framework we defined and used to assess the validity and applicability of the selected trajectories for the perception and generation of expressive full-body movements. This framework consists of the creation of a motion capture database of expressive theatrical movements, the development of a motion synthesis system based on trajectories re-played or re-sampled and inverse kinematics, and two perceptual studies.
Rapid advances in digital technologies have allowed robots to become more autonomous and efficacious than ever before. Future developments in robotics hold the potential to transform human robot interactions. We can expect to see robots performing a variety of functions in public spaces. Possibilities exist for robots to greatly improve the quality of our lives and to contribute positively to the safety, creative potential, and atmosphere of public spaces. But as this trend develops, the risk emerges of robots transforming public spaces and social interactions in undesirable ways. By reviewing previous public policy approaches to harnessing and regulating disruptive technology, we consider how public policy could simultaneously enhance opportunities created by the presence of robots in public spaces and reduce the risks of undesirable outcomes. We summarize key insights into a policy design checklist to guide policies on robots in public spaces. These insights cover (1) safety, (2) privacy and ethics, (3) productivity, (4) esthetics, (5) co-creation, (6) equitable access, and (7) systemic innovation.
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