[squarebear]

Thsi looks great Freddy. I've always wanted something like this for Mitsuku rather than a plain 2d image.

[Freddy]

Thanks everyone 

Well today I got a lot more done, now she can talk

So what we have here now is a slightly larger avatar (350x350 pixels) hooked up to an AIML bot.  CPU use is really low still.

Again, swap to high resolution or click through to see her larger on You Tube.



A couple of glitches like pronouncing a full-stop (period) and 'Ai Dreams' not quite right - I probably should have separated the 'A' and 'I' but you get the idea.

She's not called Tyler, that's just the AIML I had handy.

[Art]

Very nice, Freddy. She's getting better with each posting.

Over here we don't say or use "Full-Stop". Never heard of it until a friend from Pakistan used it a few times last year.
For Internet / Web usage it has evolved to the word "Dot" whereas in English classes here it is simply referred to as a Period.

And that concludes today's presentation of the Full-Dot-Stop-Period-End of sentence punctuation. or should that have been a "!" ?

(curious, is there such a thing as a "Half-Stop" or is that the same as a comma , or something not in the same context at all.)

curiouser...and curiouser....

[Sybershot]

Agreed Art, Definitely getting better with each posting 
Marvelous work Freddy 2x [thumbs up]

[Freddy]

Thanks guys.  What did you think of the way she looks towards the user when she talks ?

The way I wrote it is that she first moves so she is looking forward and then talks, then goes back to being idle.

It would be possible to define a region where mouth shapes can be shown, so that she can talk in a slightly 'off centre' position.  But I don't know if that's really necessary.  It requires a lot more frames.

What do people think of that, is it necessary ?

Today I need to make the avatar scale-able some how and take a look at how I might turn this into a library so it can be used in other projects.  I already have some things done for an assistant, but I think it would be nice to make this modular.

[Bragi]

the avatar scale-able some how

Take a look at WPF's RenderTransfor and LayoutTransform. One of those should do the trick pretty easy.

[Freddy]

Thanks for the tip, I managed to get scaling working, using a slider.  Probably the same way you did. 

[Bragi]

Yep.

[Art]

Freddy,

After re-watching the video again, I picked up on the fact that "Tyler" never blinked once during the entire video. Blinking is an unconscious human occurrence and IMHO would certainly help add to the overall effect. Some occasional blinking from time to time (perhaps set randomly) would be nice. If her eyebrows could also slightly raise during her speech (again randomly) it would likewise help the overall illusion.

Just some thoughts, not bashing. I really like the direction she seems to be taking (or maybe that YOU are taking).

[Sybershot]

Thanks guys.  What did you think of the way she looks towards the user when she talks ?

I like it and would leave it as is, My reason is: when some is talking to you, you would expect them to look you in the eye.

Random Blinking, and Random Brow Lift feature would be an improvement. Is it possible instead of random brow lift to be controlled by certain key words instead? you could then use different heights and variations for assigned words.

[Freddy]

Art, yes blinking is something I plan to introduce and is pretty straight forward, I just haven't got around to it yet.

The eyebrow raising could be done in a similar way, at least when she is idle.

I just had an idea about how to introduce some random face movements too.

I did think about raising her eyebrows when she said something with an AY sound in it like 'play' or 'hey' - as I think we tend to do that when we make that sound, not sure, might just be me.

Syber : I like it and would leave it as is, My reason is: when some is talking to you, you would expect them to look you in the eye.

Yes that was my original thought too. 

Thanks chaps I will play some more with it.  The good thing is the CPU use is so low now that it uses DirectX that I can add more things

[Freddy]

Here you go Art, here is some blinking.  I forgot to add the eyebrow thing to some of the animations so that will have to come later.

New hair do as well, reminds me of Leeloo in The Fifth Element a little.  A different voice this time too.

[Art]

Very good Freddy!! Nice touch with the added random Blinking.

Here's another suggestion for you...well...for her.

Yes, that's it...a smile! How about doing a graphic that would allow her to show
lips together and turned up at the corners as in a closed mouth smile?!

This would of course accompany her telling something amusing and joke or witty
remark! Kind of the sparkly eye, cute smile, looking at you as if to say, "I got you!"

I liked the short hair and the long hair. She still displays a cute face! 

Overall, You're doing some really nice work, my friend!!
(don't forget the eyebrows...).

[Freddy]

Thanks Art, yes the smile is on the list too, I just need to work out the best way for these animations to all overlap.  Thanks for taking a look

[Art]

You're doing some nice things with her Freddy. I also like the Ivona "Emma" voice you've chosen for her!