Viewpoints AI: Procedurally Representing and Reasoning about Gestures

Viewpoints is a contemporary theatrical composition technique for understanding the expressive powers of gesture used to formally describe a dance performance or theatrical movement (Bogart 2005). We describe a computational system that integrates a gesture- based interface (Kinect), theatrical aesthetics framework (Viewpoints), AI reasoning architecture (Soar), and visualized embodiment of the AI participant (Processing) to explore novel forms of meaningful co-creative theatrical interaction in an interactive installation piece. Providing this ability to reason about a gesture’s meaning enables game designers to explore novel ways for players to communicate with intelligent game agents. Toward this end, we describe our prototype for live interaction with a projected virtual agent in an interactive installation piece.