Understanding virtual speakers

Jens Nirme, Cognitive Science, Lund University

This PhD project addressed how language comprehension is af- fected by seeing the speaker, with a particular focus on animated virtual speakers made using motion capture. Findings show that seeing a speaker facilitates comprehension, they clarify the role of timing in speech-gesture integration, and demonstrate that virtual speakers based on motion capture are viable as research instrument. The thesis also discusses the implications of these findings for the design of computer based educational applications.