Design and implementation of a human model for virtual reality applications

Due to advances in computing technologies, the field of Virtual Reality is undergoing an intense developmental stage, with numerous applications being developed in various fields. These applications are diverse, ranging from architectural walk-throughs and virtual manufacturing environments to the entertainment industry and legal police investigations. One very active research area within the field of virtual reality is that of human figure modeling, design, and articulation. With virtual environments becoming more elaborate and involved, there is an increasing need for synthetic human models to act as "inhabitants" of such worlds, and to further contribute to the level of realism and immersion in the virtual world.This thesis describes the design and implementation of a synthetic human model to be incorporated into a virtual reality training system. The human model represents the persona of the user in a virtual world, embodied in the form of an articulated human figure, that is capable of autonomously enacting task simulations, as well as mimicking the user's maneuvers in real-time. The realism of the human model was further enriched with audio cues, and the model itself was augmented with a voice interface for vocal control