Realistic Virtual Humans for Cultural Heritage Applications

Realistic Virtual Humans for Cultural Heritage Applications

Virtual Humans are becoming a commodity in computing technology and lately have been utilized in the context of interactive presentations in Virtual Cultural Heritage environments and exhibitions. To this end, this research work underlines the importance of aligning and fine-tuning Virtual Humans’ a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Heritage Vol. 4; no. 4; pp. 4148 - 4171
Main Authors: Karuzaki, Effie, Partarakis, Nikolaos, Patsiouras, Nikolaos, Zidianakis, Emmanouil, Katzourakis, Antonios, Pattakos, Antreas, Kaplanidi, Danae, Baka, Evangelia, Cadi, Nedjma, Magnenat-Thalmann, Nadia, Ringas, Chris, Tasiopoulou, Eleana, Zabulis, Xenophon
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-12-2021
Subjects:
augmented reality
Case studies
Computers
Cultural heritage
Interactive television
Multimedia
Museum exhibits
Museums
Narratives
Realism
Storytelling
virtual humans
virtual reality
virtual storytellers
Chios
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Summary:Virtual Humans are becoming a commodity in computing technology and lately have been utilized in the context of interactive presentations in Virtual Cultural Heritage environments and exhibitions. To this end, this research work underlines the importance of aligning and fine-tuning Virtual Humans’ appearance to their roles and highlights the importance of affective components. Building realistic Virtual Humans was traditionally a great challenge requiring a professional motion capturing studio and heavy resources in 3D animation and design. In this paper, a workflow for their implementation is presented, based on current technological trends in wearable mocap systems and advancements in software technology for their implementation, animation, and visualization. The workflow starts from motion recording and segmentation to avatar implementation, retargeting, animation, lip synchronization, face morphing, and integration to a virtual or physical environment. The testing of the workflow occurs in a use case for the Mastic Museum of Chios and the implementation is validated both in a 3D virtual environment accessed through Virtual Reality and on-site at the museum through an Augmented Reality application. The findings, support the initial hypothesis through a formative evaluation, and lessons learned are transformed into a set of guidelines to support the replication of this work.
ISSN:2571-9408
2571-9408
DOI:10.3390/heritage4040228