TangiCube: introducing bi-directional interactivity with a virtual agent in a tangible mixed reality environment

TangiCube introduces bi-directional interactivity with a virtual agent in a tangible mixed reality environment. While the virtual agent interacts with the user, the user is able to react to the agent with the help of physical output modality. Likewise, the user can interact with the virtual agent and the agent behaves and reacts as if it has a physical embodiment. This two-way interaction process is mediated by a tangible hardware cube embedded with vibrator to generate haptic feedback and Bluetooth module to communicate with PC wirelessly. Results of a preliminary user study show that TangiCube improves user experience within the mixed reality environment.