{"id":736750,"date":"2020-12-10T10:47:26","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T18:47:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/?post_type=msr-research-item&p=736750"},"modified":"2021-05-11T13:05:43","modified_gmt":"2021-05-11T20:05:43","slug":"avatars-finding-a-sense-of-self-and-others-in-the-virtual-world","status":"publish","type":"msr-video","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/video\/avatars-finding-a-sense-of-self-and-others-in-the-virtual-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Avatars: Finding a sense of self and others in the virtual world"},"content":{"rendered":"

Advancements in virtual reality and augmented reality are moving us from experiences in which digital content is confined to screens toward experiences in which users are surrounded by the digital content. However, anyone who\u2019s entered a VR platform realizes that while they may encounter hand renderings that enable content interactions, they\u2019re missing a key aspect of their interaction with the real world: a body. Additionally, these virtual worlds are often underpopulated with other people, or avatars, the main representations of people in these virtual scenarios.<\/p>\n

In this webinar, Microsoft Senior Researcher Dr. Mar Gonzalez-Franco explores rigged avatars\u2014those with internal skeletons for easier, more realistic animations\u2014and the potential for avatars to serve not only as opportunities for user engagement but also as a substitute for the user\u2019s own body. Such a substitution could essentially provide the user with a sense of \u201cself\u201d in the virtual world. Gonzalez-Franco will walk through her experiments with avatars and embodiment illusion, users\u2019 feelings of ownership of their virtual bodies. She\u2019ll also discuss the open-source releases of Microsoft Rocketbox avatars and Movebox toolbox, resources for creating and animating avatars in more humanlike ways.<\/p>\n

Together, you\u2019ll learn:<\/p>\n