In order for virtual humans (in
simulation, video games, or animation) to be believable, engaging, and
capable of open-ended interaction, they will need to be capable of
believably simulating affective responses to stimuli. My Ph.D.
work
focused on how gaze shifts can be animated such that the gaze behaviors
believably contain emotional information that can be recognized by a
human viewer.
I strongly feel
that the
development of virtual humans, virtual training environments, and
serious games
requires a multidisciplinary approach. I
am particularly interested in how current research in Neuroscience and
Psychology that deals with how people learn can influence the
development of serious
games and training technologies.
In
order
to learn more about the current applicable research in these
fields, I am
currently working as a PostDoctoral Research Fellow in Cognitive
Neuroscience,
jointly between the Institute for Creative Technologies VRPsych lab,
and the
Army Research Lab – Neuroscience. I am
working on the development of the Virtual
Reality
Cognitive Performance Assessment
Test (VRCPAT), a situated virtual environment that is intended to
be used to
assess, evaluate, and eventually rehabilitate cognitive function lost
due to
traumatic brain injury.
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