The ALIVE system: wireless, full-body interaction with autonomous agents

The cumbersome nature of wired interfaces often limits the range of application of virtual environments. In this paper, we discuss the design and implementation of a novel system, called ALIVE, which allows unencumbered full-body interaction between a human participant and a rich graphical world inhabited by autonomous agents. Based on results obtained with thousands of users, the paper argues that this kind of system can provide more complex and very different experiences than traditional virtual reality systems. The ALIVE system significantly broadens the range of potential applications of virtual reality systems; in particular, the paper discusses novel applications in the area of training and teaching, entertainment, and digital assistants or interface agents. We give an overview of the methods used in the implementation of the existing ALIVE systems.