Cursive

Controlling avatars with pen gestures

We are developing an interaction technique, called Cursive, for rich nonverbal communication through an avatar. By writing a single letter on a pen tablet device, a user can express their ideas or intentions, nonverbally, using their avatar body. Our system solves the difficult problem of controlling the movements of a highly articulated, 3D avatar model using a common input device within the context of an office environment. We believe that writing is a richly expressive and natural means for controlling expressive avatar gesture.

Research Publications

• Francesca Barrientos and John Canny, "Cursive: A Novel Interaction Technique for Controlling Expressive Avatar Gesture." In the Proceedings of the ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology: UIST 2001, CHI Letters, 2001. PDF

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