Casola Casola Blog
Feature Release: Control Avatar Emotes in Real Time
Trigger waves, head turns, and hand gestures during a live avatar session.
Live avatars can now perform emotes on command. The release includes many actions, such as:
- Wave: Add a greeting, acknowledgement, or sign-off.
- Turn head: Direct the avatar’s attention or add a natural beat to the conversation.
- Show hands: Bring the avatar’s hands into frame for a more expressive response.
Your application controls the moment
Emotes are control-activated. Your application decides which action to use and when to trigger it during a live session.
That control makes the behavior predictable. A wave can follow a welcome message, a head turn can match a change in focus, and visible hands can add emphasis to an explanation. The movement happens inside the live conversation instead of being baked into a prerecorded clip.
Where emotes help
Gestures can carry communicative meaning alongside speech, including emphasis, reference, and turn-taking cues.[1] Coordinating gesture with an avatar’s words can also strengthen how viewers perceive its personality and physical presence.[2] Emotes work well in moments such as:
- Greeting someone as a session begins
- Acknowledging a completed step during onboarding
- Shifting attention during a lesson or presentation
- Closing a support call
Developers can add emotes to existing avatar experiences without changing the character’s voice or conversation logic.
Frequently asked questions
What is an avatar emote?
An avatar emote is a visual action, such as a wave or head turn, that the character performs during a live session.
Are avatar emotes triggered automatically?
No. These emotes are control-activated, so your application chooses the action and when it should happen.
Do emotes change the avatar's voice or conversation logic?
No. Emotes control visible movement. The avatar can keep the same voice, character, and conversation behavior.
Can I add emotes to an existing avatar experience?
Yes. Applications can add emote controls to an existing live-avatar flow without replacing the character or rewriting its conversation instructions.
Sources
- Clavel, Céline, et al. Automating the Production of Communicative Gestures in Embodied Characters. Frontiers in Psychology, 2018.
- Sonlu, Sinem, et al. Personality Expression Using Co-Speech Gesture. ACM Transactions on Applied Perception, 2024.