I-Portrait: An Interactive Photograph System for Enhancing Social Presence

ABSTRACT

People often strive to “externalize” memories for long-term saving or sharing with others using different forms of media. We devised a new interactive photograph system, I-Portrait, which enables interactive experiences with figures in a photograph. I-Portrait comprises short video clips that are recorded and played upon user interactions such as touch, voice, gestures, and facial expressions, providing users with the virtual experience of interaction with the figure. We evaluated the system by surveying 40 university students (age 20–29 years) on the level of social presence of the photograph (mutual awareness, emotional connectedness, and awareness of co-location) and users’ satisfaction, and comparing these measures between the I-Portrait system and traditional portraits. We found significant differences in all aspects of social presence suggesting that the interactivity of the I-Portrait system may significantly increase the social presence of physically distant others.