An interactive talking head

Abstract

We demonstrate a novel method for producing a synthetic talking head. The method is based on earlier work in which the behaviour of a synthetic individual is generated by reference to a probabilistic model of interactive beha viour within the visual domain - such models are learnt automatically from typical interactions. We extend this work in to a combined visual and auditory domain and employ a state-of-the-art facial appearance model. The result is a real-time synthetic talking head that responds appropriately and with correct timing to simple forms of greeting with variations in facial expression and intonation.