Tele-embodied agent (TEA) for video teleconferencing

Abstract

We propose a design of teleconference system which express nonverbal behavior (in our case head gesture) along with audio-video communication. Previous audio-video conferencing systems are abortive in presenting nonverbal behaviors which we, as human, usually use in face to face interaction. Recently, research in teleconferencing systems has expanded to include nonverbal cues of remote person in their distance communication. The accurate representation of non-verbal gestures for such systems is still challenging because they are dependent on hand-operated devices (like mouse or keyboard). Furthermore, they still lack in presenting accurate human gestures. We believe that incorporating embodied interaction in video teleconferencing, (i.e., using the physical world as a medium for interacting with digital technology) can result in nonverbal behavior representation. The experimental platform named Tele-Embodied Agent (TEA) is introduced which incorperates remote person's head gestures to study new paradigm of embodied interaction in video teleconferencing. Our preliminary test shows accuracy (with respect to pose angles) and efficiency (with respect to time) of our proposed design. TEA can be used in medical field, factories, offices, gaming industry, music industry and for training.