The Development of an Autonomously Interacting Avatar within a Virtual Reality Environment for Researching the Anticipation Ability in Martial Arts

体育科学研究在预期领域的一个目标是创造现实的环境。研究表明，与真实环境非常相似的虚拟环境会引起运动员的真实反应。以往的研究已经证实，虚拟现实(VR)可以成功地应用于这一目的。其中，与二维投影屏幕和计算机显示器相比，虚拟现实具有许多优势。VR的首要优势之一是第三维度，它能在用户内部产生一种空间感知的感觉。VR的另一个好处是生态有效性、标准化、可控性的高标准，以及可以操作选定的参数(例如，时间和空间遮挡)。然而，据我们所知，在创造的虚拟对手方面仍然存在很大的劣势。因此，使用这些虚拟系统既不可能对真实运动员的动作或动作做出反应，也不可能相互作用。与开姆尼茨理工大学计算机科学系合作，将开发一种交互式虚拟对手，以克服这些缺陷。基于规则系统，生成了一个继承了必要的短反应时间并且可以对真实运动员做出反应的新颖的化身。此外，化身将拥有最逼真的外观。从计算机图形学的观点来看，从捕获运动数据到虚拟对手骨骼的交互动画和其网格(数字人的外观)的逼真呈现，在工作流可用性的研究中仍然存在不足。此外，在本项目中，将评估是否可以使用混合计算方法(在图形处理单元(GPU)和中央处理单元(CPU)上同时进行计算)来实现我们的目标。此外，还必须评估交互对手的多功能性。更具体地说，评估将包含a)现实生活中的对手、b)非互动对手和c)这里产生的互动对手的反应的比较。最后，关于自主互动化身的概念是否能够成功地适应类似类型的武术的问题，在本项目的过程中所获得的结果将被评估。

One goal of sports scientific research in the field of anticipation is to create realistic environments. It has been shown that virtual environments that are very similar to real settings evoke realistic reactions in athletes. Previous studies have confirmed that Virtual Reality (VR) can be successfully applied for this purpose. Therein, Virtual Reality has many advantages over the presentation by two dimensional projection screens and computer displays. Amongst the first and foremost advantages of VR is the third dimension that generates a feeling of spatial perception within the users. Further benefits of VR are the high standard of ecological validity, standardization, controllability as well as the possibility to manipulate selected parameters (e.g. temporal and spatial occlusion). However, as far as we know, there is still a big disadvantage in regards to the created virtual opponents. Thus, with these virtual systems it is neither possible to respond to the movements or actions of a real athlete, nor are they interactive. In cooperation with the department of computer science of the Chemnitz University of Technology an interactive virtual opponent shall be developed to overcome these deficits. Based on a rule system, a novel avatar is generated which inherits the necessary short reaction times and which can respond to the real athlete. In addition, the avatar will have a most realistic appearance. From the computer graphics point of view there is still a deficit in the research of the availability of a workflow from the capturing of movement data up to an interactive animation of the virtual opponents skeleton and a realistic presentation of its mesh (the digital humans outward appearance). Moreover, it shall be evaluated in the present project whether a hybrid method of computation (computations done on the graphical processing unit (GPU) and the central processing unit (CPU) simultaneously) can be used to realize our goals.Beyond that, the interactive opponent has to be evaluated in regards to its versatility. More specifically, the evaluation will contain a comparison of reactions of a) an opponent in real life, b) the not interactive opponent and c) the here generated interactive opponent.Finally, the results acquired in the course of the present project will be evaluated concerning the question whether the concept of an autonomously interacting avatar can be successfully adapted to similar types of martial arts.