Development of Nodding Detection System Based on Active Appearance Model

In face-to-face conversation, embodied rhythms between speech and body movements such as nodding are mutually synchronized between talkers. This synchrony is called entrainment in communication, and it generates the sharing of embodiment in human interaction. Embodied communication, which is closely related to behavioral and physiological entrainment, is an essential form of communication that forms the basis of interaction between talkers through mutual embodiment. In particular, nodding has an important role as a regulator in embodied interaction and communication. The detection of nodding is useful for an estimation of the activity of conversation. In this paper, we propose a nodding detection model based on the analysis of the head movement involved in nodding and introduce a system that uses this model. In this system, nodding is detected from the rotational movement of a head, which is estimated by face tracking using Active Appearance Model. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the system is demonstrated in comparison with the nodding detection by visual inspection.