Augmented-reality-based 3d emotional messenger for dynamic user communication with smart devices

Abstract

With the development of Internet technologies, chat environments have migrated from PCs to mobile devices. Conversations have moved from phone calls and text messages to mobile messaging services or “messengers,” which has led to a significant surge in the use of mobile messengers such as Line and WhatsApp. However, because these messengers mainly use text as the communication medium, they have the inherent disadvantage of not effectively representing the user’s nonverbal expressions. In this context, we propose a new emotional communication messenger that improves upon the limitations of existing static expressions in current messenger applications. We develop a chat messenger based on augmented reality (AR) technology using smartglasses, which are a type of a wearable device. To this end, we select a server model that is suitable for AR, and we apply an effective emotional expression method based on 16 different basic emotions classified as per Russell’s model. In our app, these emotions can be expressed via emojis, animations, particle effects, and sound clips. Finally, we verify the efficacy of our messenger by conducting a user study to compare it with current 2D-based messenger services. Our messenger service can serve as a prototype for future AR-based messenger apps. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.