Integration of Avatars and Autonomous Virtual Humans in Networked Virtual Environments

In this paper, we survey problems and solutions for inserting virtual humans in Networked Virtual Environments. Using virtual humans as participant embodiment increases the collaboration in Networked Virtual Environments, as it provides a direct relationship between how we interact with the real world and the virtual world representation. We show the differences between avatars and autononous Virtual Humans in terms of motion control. 1 Introduction Trends towards networked applications and Computer Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW), together with a wide interest for graphical systems and Virtual Environments, have in the recent years raised interest for research in the field of Networked Virtual Environments (NVEs) [1]. NVEs are systems that allow multiple geographically distant users to interact in a common virtual environment. The users themselves are represented within the environment using a graphical embodiment. The user can evolve within the environment and interact wi..