Building Interactive 3D Characters and Social VR
Meeting another person is one of the most amazing experiences you can have in Virtual Reality. It is quite unlike communicating through any other medium except a real life face-to-face conversation. Because the other person is life size and shares a virtual space with you, body language works in a way that cannot be done on a flat screen. This course will enable you to create realistic social interactions in VR. You will learn about both the psychology of social interaction and the practical skills to implement it in Unity3D.
Monthly Subscription Starting at AED 99 + VAT
- Level Professional
- Duration 13 hours
- Course by University of London
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Offered by
About
Meeting another person is one of the most amazing experiences you can have in Virtual Reality. It is quite unlike communicating through any other medium except a real life face-to-face conversation. Because the other person is life size and shares a virtual space with you, body language works in a way that cannot be done on a flat screen. This course will enable you to create realistic social interactions in VR. You will learn about both the psychology of social interaction and the practical skills to implement it in Unity3D. We will take you through the basics of 3D character animation and how to create body language. You will learn about how to make characters that can respond to players’ speech and body language. You will also learn about avatars: the virtual representation of other players, and agents: computer controlled NPC characters and how to implement both of them. As many people have said before us, social is the future of VR. This course will help you become part of the future of Virtual Reality social experiences.Modules
Introduction to Virtual Characters
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7
Videos
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2
Readings
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4
Discussion
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1
Assignment
1
Assignment
- Virtual Characters Quiz
4
Discussions
- Introduction to Virtual Characters
- Virtual Character Realism
- Agents and Avatars
- Virtual Character Application
7
Videos
- Introduction to Social VR and Virtual Characters
- Virtual Characters | Realism
- Agents and Avatars
- Applications of Virtual Characters
- Introduction to Character Animation
- Cristina
- Designing Virtual Characters
2
Readings
- Uncanny Valley
- Course Blog
Project Work
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3
Videos
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4
Readings
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1
Assignment
1
Assignment
- Planning your project
3
Videos
- Importing a Virtual Character to Unity
- Embodiment in Unity using Mobile VR
- Project Briefing
4
Readings
- Getting Started in Unity
- Where to Download Virtual Characters
- Unity Mecanim Tutorial
- Virtual Character Project Brief
Introduction to Human Body Animation
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9
Videos
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2
Readings
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4
Discussion
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1
Assignment
1
Assignment
- Body Movement
4
Discussions
- Observe other's body language.
- Motion Capture
- Gestures
- A great example of body animation
9
Videos
- Introduction to Body Language
- Introduction to Skeletal Animation
- Introduction to Motion Capture
- Speech
- Posture and Gesture
- Backchannel
- Sensing the User’s Body Language
- Proxemics
- Body Language for Avatars
2
Readings
- Markerless mocap
- Bodily Communication
Project Work
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3
Videos
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2
Readings
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1
PeerReview
1
Peer Review
- Virtual Character
3
Videos
- Applying Motion Capture Data onto a Virtual Character
- Speech Interaction
- Gesture Interaction
2
Readings
- Where can you find Mocap data
- The Virtual Character Interaction Scripts
Facial Animation
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4
Videos
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2
Readings
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2
Discussion
2
Discussions
- Facial Motion Capture
- A great example of facial animation
4
Videos
- Introduction to Facial Expressions | The Psychology
- Introduction to Facial Expressions
- Introduction to Facial Expression in Unity
- Blinking and Lip Sync Animation
2
Readings
- Interaction Scripts
- Facial Animation: find out more
Gaze and Eye Contact
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3
Videos
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1
Readings
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2
Discussion
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1
Assignment
1
Assignment
- Facial Expressions
2
Discussions
- A great example of gaze animation
- Body language around the world
3
Videos
- The Importance of Gaze in Social Interaction
- Gaze Interaction
- Other Facial Features and Their Psychological Effect
1
Readings
- Gaze Animation
Social VR
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7
Videos
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5
Readings
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2
Discussion
2
Discussions
- How does social interaction work?
- Challenges in Human-avatar interaction in VR
7
Videos
- Introduction to Social VR
- The Psychology Behind Social Interaction
- Challenges in Human-Avatar Interaction
- Challenges in Human-Agent Interaction
- Evaluation of Social Interaction in VR
- Self-Avatar | Implementation and Applications
- Summary of Social VR
5
Readings
- Automatic Imitation
- Extended reading: applications using Virtual Characters
- Human-avatar: Social VR apps
- Human-agent interaction
- Embodiment - implementation and psychological effect
Final Project
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1
Readings
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1
PeerReview
1
Peer Review
- Interactive Virtual Character
1
Readings
- Thank you
Auto Summary
Dive into the future of Virtual Reality with the "Building Interactive 3D Characters and Social VR" course. This engaging program, offered by Coursera, focuses on creating immersive and realistic social interactions in VR, leveraging the unique dynamics of face-to-face communication in a virtual setting. Guided by expert instruction, you'll explore the intersection of psychology and technology, mastering the essentials of 3D character animation and body language in Unity3D. Learn how to develop responsive characters that interact naturally with players through speech and gestures. The course also delves into creating avatars, representing real players, and NPC agents, enhancing the depth of your virtual environments. Spanning a comprehensive 780 hours, this professional-level course is designed for IT and Computer Science enthusiasts eager to pioneer the social aspects of VR. With a flexible Starter subscription, you'll gain the skills to be at the forefront of VR social experiences and shape the future of interactive virtual communication.
Prof Sylvia Xueni Pan
Prof Marco Gillies