Design of a Virtual Player for Joint Improvisation with Humans in the Mirror Game |
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| Authors: | Chao Zhai Francesco Alderisio Piotr S?owiński Krasimira Tsaneva-Atanasova Mario di Bernardo |
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| Affiliation: | 1Department of Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol, BS8 1UB Bristol, United Kingdom;2College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, EX4 4QF Exeter, United Kingdom;3Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, University of Naples Federico II, 80125 Naples, Italy;Champalimaud Foundation, PORTUGAL |
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| Abstract: | Joint improvisation is often observed among humans performing joint action tasks. Exploring the underlying cognitive and neural mechanisms behind the emergence of joint improvisation is an open research challenge. This paper investigates jointly improvised movements between two participants in the mirror game, a paradigmatic joint task example. First, experiments involving movement coordination of different dyads of human players are performed in order to build a human benchmark. No designation of leader and follower is given beforehand. We find that joint improvisation is characterized by the lack of a leader and high levels of movement synchronization. Then, a theoretical model is proposed to capture some features of their interaction, and a set of experiments is carried out to test and validate the model ability to reproduce the experimental observations. Furthermore, the model is used to drive a computer avatar able to successfully improvise joint motion with a human participant in real time. Finally, a convergence analysis of the proposed model is carried out to confirm its ability to reproduce joint movements between the participants. |
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