The Virtual Room Inhabitant

In this paper we describe a new way to improve the usability of complex hardware setups in Instrumented Environments (IEs). By introducing a virtual character, we facilitate intuitive interaction with our IE. The character is capable of freely moving along the walls of the room. In this way, it may offer situated assistance to users within the environment. We make use of a steerable projector and a spatial audio system, in order to position the character within the environment. Our concept of a virtual character “living” within the IE, and thus playing the role of an assistant, allows both novice and advanced users to efficiently interact with the different devices integrated within the IE. The character is capable of welcoming a first time visitor and its main purpose is to explain the setup of the environment and to help users while interacting with it.