We present here a new system, in which signing avatars (computer-animated virtual humans built from motion capture recordings) teach introductory American Sign Language (ASL) in an immersive virtual environment. The system is called Signing Avatars & Immersive Learning (SAIL). The significant contributions of this work are 1) the use of signing avatars, built from state-of-the-art motion capture recordings of a native signer; 2) the integration with LEAP gesture tracking hardware, allowing the user to see his or her own movements within the virtual environment; 3) the development of appropriate introductory ASL vocabulary, delivered in semi-interactive lessons; and 4) the 3D environment in which a user accesses the system.
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Signing Avatars in a New Dimension: Challenges and Opportunities in Virtual Reality
With improved and more easily accessible technology, immersive virtual reality (VR) head-mounted devices have become more ubiquitous. As signing avatar technology improves, virtual reality presents a new and relatively unexplored application for signing avatars. This paper discusses two primary ways that signed language can be represented in immersive virtual spaces: 1) Third-person, in which the VR user sees a character who communicates in signed language; and 2) First-person, in which the VR user produces signed content themselves, tracked by the head-mounted device and visible to the user herself (and/or to other users) in the virtual environment. We will discuss the unique affordances granted by virtual reality and how signing avatars might bring accessibility and new opportunities to virtual spaces. We will then discuss the limitations of signed content in virtual reality concerning virtual signers shown from both third- and first-person perspectives.
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- PAR ID:
- 10356532
- Editor(s):
- Efthimiou, E.; Fotinea, S-E.; Hanke, T.; McDonald, J.; Shterionov, D.; Wolfe, R.
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the 7th International Workshop on Sign Language Translation and Avatar Technology (SLTAT 7)
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 85-90
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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