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EPSRC PhD Studentship, University of Sheffield
May 04 04
Source: BCS-HCI
PhD Studentship: Linguistic Style and Personality of Virtual Dialogue Characters
Funding: EPSRC
Start Date: October 2004
Location: University of Sheffield - Department of Computer Science
Linguistic Style and Personality of Virtual Dialogue Characters The Department of Computer Science at the University of Sheffield invites applications for a three-year studentship award to commence in October 2004.
Virtual dialogue characters are increasingly becoming a common interface for communication between humans and computers, enriching communication modalities to include voice, gestures, and postures, and introducing new forms of human- computer interaction. inspired by the way humans interact with each other. These characters can be embodied on different platforms, from virtual worlds in immersive environments to portable and mobile computers. The graphic details and interaction modality might change with the platform, but the sense of co- presence in a shared environment and the believability of such characters should remain the same.
The successful applicant will work on the design, construction and testing of software that can produce different instantiations of an interactive
three- dimensional character for interacting with humans. The proposed research includes:
a.. the development of a module that can generate spoken contributions to a dialogue, whose style and form can be varied according to the character's personality and/or emotional state.
b.. the development of a module for the synchronous generation of related 3D graphic expressive gestures and postures.
The project will be jointly supervised by Prof. Marilyn Walker and Dr.
Daniela Romano.
Deadline for applications: Monday 3rd May 2004.
Applications received after this deadline may be considered, but this cannot be guaranteed.
The ideal candidate will have a good first degree or MSc in a relevant subject (Computational Linguistics or Linguistics, Computer Science, Psychology), a strong interest in 3D graphics, and Human Factors.
Applicants with strong programming skills (e.g., C++, Perl, Java) and expertise in some of the following will be preferred:
a.. Dialogue modelling
b.. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
c.. 3D Graphics
d.. HCI
e.. Psychology
f.. Natural Language Processing
The EPSRC baseline rate of maintenance is currently approx. GBP £7,500 p.a., and the studentship will also pay the three years' tuition fees at UK/EU rates.
The successful applicant will be based at the University of Sheffield's Department of Computer Science, internationally recognised for the quality of its research, and will work across the Natural Language Processing (NLP), Speech and Hearing (SpandH), Machine Learning (ML) and the Computer Graphics research groups (see http://www.dcs.shef.ac.uk/research for details).
The Department of Computer Science has close research links with a number of other academic institutions (e.g., University of Edinburgh, MIT) and companies (e.g., AT&T) from which the student will benefit. For more information about the Department see: http://www.dcs.shef.ac.uk/
Applicants should apply to the University of Sheffield by submitting the general PhD application form. Information about the PhD Programme, and how to apply for a PhD can be found by following the various links from the following URL: http://www.dcs.shef.ac.uk/research/admissions/index.html.
c.. PLEASE MARK "Linguistic Style and Personality of Virtual Dialogue Characters" ON THE APPLICATION.
d.. For additional information on the PhD project, please contact:
Marilyn Walker Email M.A.Walker at sheffield.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)114 222 1806 or
Daniela Romano Email: D.Romano at dcs.shef.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)114 222 1900