Post on 16-Apr-2017
Empathic Computing
The coming age of empathic computingMark Billinghurstmark.billinghurst@unisa.edu.auJune 2nd 2016AWE 2016 ConferenceSanta Clara, USA
Current AR/VR/Wearable Technology
Applications EnabledGamingEducationHealthMedicineTrainingTourismEtc
Looking to the Future
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EmpathySeeing with the Eyes of another,Listening with the Ears of another, and Feeling with the Heart of another..Alfred Adler
Empathic Computing1. Understanding: Systems that can understand your feelings and emotions2. Experiencing: Systems that help you better experience the world of others3. Sharing: Systems that help you better share the experience of others
Sensors
VR
AR
1. Understanding: Affective ComputingRos Picard MIT Media LabSystems that recognize emotion
Example: Affectivahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QDMNPhMJI4
2. Experiencing: Virtual Reality
"Virtual reality offers a whole different medium to tell stories that really connect people andcreate anempathic connection." Nonny de la Peahttp://www.emblematicgroup.com/
Using VR for EmpathyUSC Project Syria (2014)Experience of Terrorism
Project Homeless (2015)Experience of Homelessness
For example, in her work she has developed VR interfaces to show what is it like to be in a terrorist bombing in Syria, or a homeless food line in Los Angeles. These are single user experience and provide a power immersive experience.12
Project Homelesshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=SSLG8auUZKc
CHILDHOOD (Siggraph 2015)Kenji Suzuki, University of TsukubaWhat does it feel like to be a child?VR display + moved cameras + hand restrictors
CHILDHOOD Demohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3OghiKZxz4
Sharing: Augmented RealityCan we develop systems that allow us to share what we are seeing, hearing and feeling with others?
Empathy Glasses (CHI 2016)Combine together eye-tracking, display, face expressionImpicit cues eye gaze, face expression
++Pupil LabsEpson BT-200AffectiveWear Masai, K., Sugimoto, M., Kunze, K., & Billinghurst, M. (2016, May). Empathy Glasses. InProceedings of the 34th Annual ACM Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems. ACM.
AffectiveWear Emotion GlassesPhoto sensors to recognize expressionUser calibrationMachine learningRecognizing 8 face expressions
Empathy Glasses in UseEye gaze pointer and remote pointingFace expression displayIn future integrated eye-tracking/display
This shows the Empathy glasses in used. A person wearing them is assembling some wooden blocks. The view from the head worn camera is sent to a remote expert helper as well as the gaze pointer and a representation of the persons face expression. The remote is watching this on a monitor and can use a mouse to highlight points of interest. This pointer view is then shared back to the local user, so he or she can see when the remote user is indicating. We ran a pilot use study that showed that sharing eye-gaze on the video made a significant improvement over just sharing live video.19
Empathy Glasses Demo
Lessons Learned
Pointing really helps in remote collaborationMakes remote user feel more connectedGaze looks promisingShows context of what person talking aboutEstablish shared understanding/awarenessFace expression Used as an implicit cue to show comprehension LimitationsLimited implicit cuesTask was a poor emotional triggerAffectiveWear needs improvement
Empathic VR EnvironmentsPlayer and ViewerViewer slaved to player Share emotional signals Heart rate, GSRRemote affect measuring
Demo: Empathic VR
AR and VR for Empathic ComputingVR systems are ideal for trying experiences:Strong story telling medium Provide total immersion/3D experienceEasy to change virtual body scale and representation
AR systems are idea for live sharing:Allow overlay on real world view/can share viewpointsSupport remote annotation/communicationEnhance real world task
As the examples Ive shown demonstrate, AR and VR are both ideal technologies for empathic computing. VR is perfect for getting people to try other experiences because it can immerse you in the experience. AR is perfect for live sharing of what people are seeing, hearing and feeling because it can be used for live streaming of a remote persons view and placing annotations on that view. 24
ConclusionsTrend towards Empathic ComputingUnderstanding, Experiencing, SharingAR/VR Enables Empathic ExperiencesChanges perspective Sharing space/experienceSupports annotation/communicationMany directions for future research
25In conclusion, Ive shown that there is a trend towards technologies that enhance understanding, experiencing and sharing, and to Empathic Computing. AR and VR enable types of empathic experiences do to their ability to share a first person view, share space and support communication cues. However there are many directions for future research, such as exploring how to capture and represent emotion.
www.empathiccomputing.org@marknb00
mark.billinghurst@unisa.edu.au