Intelligent virtual character systems

多媒体硬件和软件的最新发展使许多系统能够纳入视听组件。另一方面，人脸作为一种交流对象，在我们的互动中起着重要的作用。这就需要特别关注计算机生成的人脸动画作为多媒体系统和计算机图形学的一个特定研究领域。在可能的应用中，可以提到通信、基于Web的服务、交互式代理、计算机游戏和电影中的视觉效果。我们的主要研究领域是社交用户界面，即某种类型的人机交互，计算机可以显示具有社会意义的，语言或非语言的行为，如手势和表情。这个发现补助金是支持我们的长期研究项目-一个全面的环境，互动的2D和3D人脸动画，使用知识为基础的方法。这种方法为我们提供了一个多维参数空间语言的分层面部表情，情绪和行为;创建一个面部环境，使用自然和复杂的知识表示的脸（和面部表情）。为了实现这些目标，我们的开发系统使用基于组件的流架构，和人脸建模语言（FML），一个基于XML的语言与MPEG-4 XMT框架兼容，并被称为iFace。 iFACE基于Face Multimedia Object（FMO）的思想，专为各种以面部为中心的应用程序而设计。

Recent developments in multimedia hardware and software have made it possible for many systems to incorporate audio-visual components. On the other hand, the human face as a communication object plays a major role in our interactions. This demands a special focus on computer-generated face animation as a specific area of research in multimedia systems and computer graphics. Among possible applications, communication, web-based services, interactive agents, computer games, and visual effects in movies can be mentioned. Our primary area of research is social user interfaces, i.e. a certain category of human-computer interaction where computers can show socially meaningful, verbal or non-verbal, behaviours such as gestures and expressions. This Discovery Grant is to support our long range research project - a comprehensive environment for interactive 2D and 3D face animation which uses a knowledge-based approach. This approach gives us a multi-dimensional parameter space language of hierarchical facial expressions, emotions and behaviours; creating a facial environment that uses a natural and complex knowledge representation of the face (and face expressions). To achieve these goals our development system uses component-based streaming architecture, and Face Modeling Language (FML), an XML-based language compatible with MPEG-4 XMT framework, and is called iFace.  iFACE is based on the idea of Face Multimedia Object (FMO), designed for a variety of face-centric applications.