虚拟空间会议系统中英汉双语交互的研究

1 引言虚拟空间会议(Virtual Space Teleconferencing,简称VST)系统是虚拟现实技术与计算机网络和多媒体技术相结合的产物,它突破了传统的地域观念,利用虚拟现实技术,将不同地点与会终端的局部会场合成一个共同的虚拟空间,与会者以替身(avatar)的形式放到这个三维虚拟空间中,通过替身在虚拟空间中定位、观察、操纵虚拟空间的实体、与他人进行交流等,与会者“共享同一空间”,具有身临其境之感,因而又有“终极会议系统(Ultimate Teleconferencing System)”之说。与以前的多媒体视频会议相比,VST有很大的优越性:     

虚拟空间会议系统中视频合成技术的研究与实现

虚拟空间会议系统能够把所有与会者合成同一个虚拟会场中,从而构造一个能提供无缝的会场环境,眼神接触、凝视感知等普通多媒体会议系统不具备的虚拟协同工作环境。VST系统是我们刚刚完成的一个虚拟空间会议系统。视频合成技术是其实现的关键技术之一。本文介绍了VST系统中视频合成技术的研究与实现。     

虚拟会议空间的研究与实现

支持协同工作的虚拟环境是当前虚拟现实技术研究的热点,虚拟会议空间能提供无缝的会场环境、眼神接触、凝视感知等普通多媒体会议系统不具备的虚拟协同工作环境。介绍了已成功鉴定的虚拟空间会议系统VST中虚拟会议空间的构造模型与实现方法。     

提高虚拟空间会议系统传输效率的分层策略研究

降低虚拟空间会议系统(VST)的混频时延和降低混频器数量是一对矛盾的问题．本文研究了VST系统的通信效率与混频器关系，提出了在保证系统通信容忍的时延情况下，选取最少的混频器数量，以及在分层结构中系统通信的最小时延策略．采用这种策略，能够有效地保证VST系统提供较高质量的服务时延和较低成本的混频．     

提高虚拟空间会议系统服务质量QoS的若干技术

虚拟空间会议系统是视频会汉系统发展的最高形式．本文结合作者研究工作，通过分析与视频会议系统服务质量相关的技术，提出了基于VST系统的相关技术策略，这些策略能够有效地提高VST系统的服务质量．     

均衡虚拟空间会议系统的混频时延和混频器数量的技术研究

合成虚拟空间会议系统(VST)的一个需要考虑的重要因素是混频器数量和混频时延的关系，其中混频器数量影响系统的成本，而混频时延影响系统的实时性，降低系统的混频时延和降低混频器数量是一对矛盾的问题．基于VST系统的通信效率与混频器关系，提出了在保证系统通信容忍的时延情况下，选取最少的混频器数量，以及在分层结构中系统通信的最小时延策略．采用这种策略能够有效地保证VST系统提供较高质量的服务时延和较低成本的混频．     

虚拟空间会议系统中音频合成技术的研究与实现

虚拟空间会议系统能够使与会者在一个共同的虚拟环境中以较自然的方式进行信息交流,语音合成是虚拟会议实现的关键技术之一,其目的是构造真实的会场交谈环境,实现 会者之间基于空间位置的听觉感知,文中分析了语音合成对虚拟会议体系结构的需求,在此基础上,提出了针对不同的会议应用模式的语音合成方法,并在虚拟会议原型系统中对其进行了实现。     

给系统找个专业替身

说起替身,大家一定会想起电影里由专业替身完成的惊险镜头。但你是否想过给自己的操作系统也找个替身呢?“PowerShadow”是一款新颖的系统虚拟和还原软件,它的操作模式不同于以往的虚拟机软件或硬件还原卡,需要在操作系统中工作或是硬性地将整个系统还原到某个固定状态中。而是在你每次开机时都为当前系统做一个虚拟系统,你可以选择进入正常系统或虚拟系统。在虚拟系统中进行的所有操作会在退出虚拟系统后完全清除掉,而不会对正常系统产生任何影响。这样一来,每当我们遇到诸如软件测试、防止病毒和网络攻击破坏以及保护隐私等特殊需求时,使用“PowerShadow”就可以最大程度地保证系统安全。     

虚拟空间会议系统研究与实现方法

支持协同工作的邪气环境是当前虚拟现实研究的热点,虚拟空间会议 实现自然直观集成研究应用的理想形式,本文介绍了虚拟空间会议系统概念,研究探讨了虚拟空间会议系统 体系结构,提出了构建虚拟会议空间方法以及实现虚拟空间会议系统所需解决的关键技术。     

替身何必非雅虎

用过雅虎邮箱的,莫不对其“替身邮”功能赞不绝口。确实,配置了“替身”,一个邮箱地址变无数个,实在不错。不过,由于雅虎用户众多,要想给“替身”取个简洁好记的名字比登天还难。其实,条条大路通罗马,提供“替身”服务的邮箱并非只有雅虎一家,3126邮箱同样做得不错。     

The embodiment of sexualized virtual selves: The Proteus effect and experiences of self-objectification via avatars

Research has indicated that many video games and virtual worlds are populated by unrealistic, hypersexualized representations of women, but the effects of embodying these representations remains understudied. The Proteus effect proposed by Yee and Bailenson (2007) suggests that embodiment may lead to shifts in self-perception both online and offline based on the avatar’s features or behaviors. A 2 × 2 experiment, the first of its kind, examined how self-perception and attitudes changed after women (N = 86) entered a fully immersive virtual environment and embodied sexualized or nonsexualized avatars which featured either the participant’s face or the face of an unknown other. Findings supported the Proteus effect. Participants who wore sexualized avatars internalized the avatar’s appearance and self-objectified, reporting more body-related thoughts than those wearing nonsexualized avatars. Participants who saw their own faces, particularly on sexualized avatars, expressed more rape myth acceptance than those in other conditions. Implications for both online and offline consequences of using sexualized avatars are discussed.     

Spatial proximity to others determines how humans inhabit virtual worlds

Highly immersive three-dimensional virtual worlds have emerged as a popular medium for human social interactions. These environments enable multimodal sensory engagement and provide an immersive graphical representation of physical space where users can interact via avatars. However, when compared to two-dimensional virtual settings such as chats, virtual worlds impose constraints on social interactions due to the physical distance between individuals. Using the popular platform of Second Life as a model, we examined how humans manage this interindividual distance in virtual worlds. Taking advantage of methods developed in population ecology, we investigated how avatars are distributed in relation to each other to populate a virtual world. Our results revealed a striking dichotomy in the spatial relationships between avatars. Considerable aggregation, largely independent of population density, was observed alongside surprisingly marked physical isolation. These findings demonstrate that the spatial proximity to others determines how humans inhabit virtual worlds.     

Avatar-mediated creativity: When embodying inventors makes engineers more creative

An important challenge today is to support creativity while enabling geographically distant people to work together. In line with the componential theory of creativity, self-perception theory and recent research on the Proteus Effect, we investigate how avatars, which are virtual representations of the self, may be a medium for stimulating creativity. For this purpose, we conducted two studies with a population of engineering students. In the first study, 114 participants responded to online surveys in order to identify what a creative avatar may look like. This enabled us to select avatars representing inventors, which were perceived as creative by engineering students, and neutral avatars. In the second study, 54 participants brainstormed in groups of 3, in 3 different conditions: in a control face-to-face situation, in a virtual environment while embodying neutral avatars and in a virtual environment with inventor avatars. The results show that inventor avatars led to higher performance in fluency and originality of ideas. Moreover, this benefit proved to endure over time since participants allocated to inventor avatars also performed better in a subsequent face-to-face brainstorming. The prospects of using avatars for enhancing creativity-relevant processes are discussed in terms of theoretical and applicative implications.     

I became an attractive person in the virtual world: Users’ identification with virtual communities and avatars

A number of studies have examined virtual worlds, which can facilitate knowledge sharing, education, and enjoyment, among others. However, no study has provided an insightful research model for evaluating virtual worlds. This study suggests that users’ identification with virtual communities and avatars plays a critical role in the construction of attractive virtual worlds. The proposed model measures the level of the user’s identification with virtual communities, through which the user builds his or her trust in other community members. In addition, the study suggests that users’ identification with avatars is an important element of their satisfaction with virtual worlds. The results indicate that users’ identification with virtual communities as well as avatars can enhance their efficacy and trust and thus facilitate their sustained use of virtual services. The results have important theoretical and practical implications.     

Social organization in virtual settings depends on proximity to human visual aspect

Virtual environments are inherently social spaces, in which humans interact through avatars. However, the parameters which favor inter-individual social structuring in those settings are still far to be understood. Particularly, the putative influence of anthropomorphic similarity of visual aspect on social organization of avatars is a key issue to understand the cognitive processes used to form social interactions in virtual worlds. Using the highly popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft as a model of socially-active virtual setting, we analyzed the social behavior of 11,649 avatars as a function of their visual aspect. Our results show that social structuring in virtual settings depends on proximity to human visual aspect. Social groups formed by human-like avatars display more homogeneity than what the optimal use of the interface would predict, while this effect is not observed for social groups formed by non-human avatars. Thus, immersion in virtual environments depends more on visually-triggered social dynamics (role-play) than on optimal use of the interface (game-play). Furthermore, social aspect may override the immediate reward of interface optimization, thus representing a major factor of immersion in virtual environments.     

Understanding emotional bond between the creator and the avatar: Change in behavioral intentions to engage in alcohol-related traffic risk behaviors

This study examines the joint impact of an individual's relationship with his or her avatar and negative consequences to the avatar on changing the individual's behavioral intentions (BI) in terms of alcohol-impaired driving. One hundred eleven participants volunteered to participate in several experimental conditions where the degree of choice of avatar features and the degree of control of the avatar's actions were manipulated in Second Life, an immersive 3D virtual environment. Participants who were allowed to customize their avatars viewed their avatars not only more similar but also emotionally closer to themselves, and perceived their avatars to be physically more attractive than those who were assigned basic avatars. After observing a car crash caused by drunk driving, participants in the choice and control condition were more likely to change BI positively when they identified their avatars to be similar to themselves, and regarded their avatars more attractive. Furthermore, participants who were allowed to control their avatars were more likely to attribute the responsibility of the car accident to themselves than those who observed someone else's avatar playing. Implications for the use of virtual reality games in promoting healthy behaviors are discussed in detail.     

Avatar creation in virtual worlds: Behaviors and motivations

Avatar creation has become common for people to participate and interact in virtual worlds. Using an online survey (N = 244), we investigated both the behavioral characteristics and major motivations for avatar creation in virtual worlds. Our results suggest that a majority of the participants had multiple avatars; these avatars’ appearance did not merely resemble the human players; and their personality did not necessarily mirror the player’s real personality. Furthermore, participants on average spent over 20 h per week and often interacting with others in the virtual worlds. Our exploratory factor analysis yielded four major motivations: virtual exploration, social navigation, contextual adaptation, and identity representation.