E-Learning, E-Education, and Online Training. Second International Conference, eLEOT 2015, Novedrate, Italy, September 16-18, 2015, Revised Selected Papers

Research Article

Does Character’s Visual Style Affect Viewer’s Perception of Signing Avatars?

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  • @INPROCEEDINGS{10.1007/978-3-319-28883-3_1,
        author={Nicoletta Adamo-Villani and Jason Lestina and Saikiran Anasingaraju},
        title={Does Character’s Visual Style Affect Viewer’s Perception of Signing Avatars?},
        proceedings={E-Learning, E-Education, and Online Training. Second International Conference, eLEOT 2015, Novedrate, Italy, September 16-18, 2015, Revised Selected Papers},
        proceedings_a={ELEOT},
        year={2016},
        month={1},
        keywords={Sign language animation Signing avatars Deaf education},
        doi={10.1007/978-3-319-28883-3_1}
    }
    
  • Nicoletta Adamo-Villani
    Jason Lestina
    Saikiran Anasingaraju
    Year: 2016
    Does Character’s Visual Style Affect Viewer’s Perception of Signing Avatars?
    ELEOT
    Springer
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-28883-3_1
Nicoletta Adamo-Villani1,*, Jason Lestina1,*, Saikiran Anasingaraju1,*
  • 1: Purdue University
*Contact email: nadamovi@purdue.edu, jlestina@purdue.edu, sanasing@purdue.edu

Abstract

The paper reports a study that aimed to determine whether character’s visual style has an effect on how signing avatars are perceived by viewers. The stimuli of the study were two polygonal characters that presented two different visual styles: stylized and realistic. Each character signed four sentences. Forty-seven participants with experience in American Sign Language (ASL) viewed the animated signing clips in random order via web survey. They (1) identified the signed sentences (if recognizable), (2) rated their legibility, and (3) rated the appeal of the signing avatar. Findings show that while character’s visual style does not have an effect on subjects’ perceived legibility of the signs and sign recognition, it has an effect on their interest in the character. The stylized signing avatar was perceived as more appealing than the realistic one.