The Edinburgh Napier University (ENU) team behind new immersive gaming technology, which aims to tackle loneliness and social isolation through dance, are showcasing it at the world’s biggest video games event.
Carousel Dancing is a revolutionary dance game which allows players in different locations to interact in virtual reality using digital dance avatars and artificial intelligence (AI). It will feature new technology, called DanceGraph, which is being developed and patented by ENU.
The Carousel project team, including colleagues from the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Grassroots Arts and Research, Aalto University and VIVITnet, are presenting their creation at GamesCom, which officially gets underway in Germany today. Running from 21-25 August in Cologne, it is described as the world’s largest gaming event, where some of the industry’s biggest names show off cutting-edge technology.
Professor Kenny Mitchell, from ENU’s School of Computing, Engineering & the Built Environment, is Carousel’s Research Lead. This project is the latest in a career which has seen him develop games, graphics, robotics, and computer vision for the likes of Electronic Arts, Disney, and Roblox.
He said: “We are really excited to be able to show off Carousel Dancing to the world.
“When we started this project during the Covid pandemic – a time of real isolation for so many people – our aim was combat loneliness with dancing and fun.
“The technology we’ve developed connects people online to interact in this virtual space. When other people's avatars aren't around, they will be able to connect with AI avatars instead.
“At GamesCom we will demonstrate how Carousel can transport someone from a drab bedroom to a fun virtual world – in the style of gaming hit Ready Player One.
“We believe it has the capacity to bring about meaningful social interaction between players.”
Carousel was funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, was started as part of an effort to connect people in the digital age. It has been recognised by the EU's Innovation Radar as being noteworthy and market ready.
The project focuses on the sensory aspects of dancing to develop technologies for human interaction and the intelligent simulation and control of realistic digital dance avatars.
The finished Carousel project will be commercialised as a VR application in the coming years, with the use of a VR headset, a 3D camera, and a modern network connection.
Meanwhile, most of the technology behind DanceGraph will be open access, with the aim of promoting open science globally.
Professor Mitchell added: “We’re looking forward to taking Carousel, and DanceGraph, even further.
“We will be taking it to market and using these advanced technologies to break down the barriers of space and time, providing entertainment and companionship.”