# Gesture Evaluation in Virtual Reality

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.12816 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.12816/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 6 of its 34 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 16 Sep 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 6 of 6)

- [The GENEA Challenge 2023: A large scale evaluation of gesture generation models in monadic and dyadic settings](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.12646/) (2023)
- [Diffusion-Based Co-Speech Gesture Generation Using Joint Text and Audio Representation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.05455/) (2023)
- [A Review of Evaluation Practices of Gesture Generation in Embodied Conversational Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.03769/) (2021)
- [The DiffuseStyleGesture+ entry to the GENEA Challenge 2023](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.13879/) (2023)
- [HEMVIP: Human Evaluation of Multiple Videos in Parallel](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.11898/) (2021)
- [Learning to Generate Pointing Gestures in Situated Embodied Conversational Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.12507/) (2025)

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Evaluation of Generative Models for Emotional 3D Animation Generation in VR](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.16081/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Gestures are central to human communication, enriching interactions through non-verbal expression. Virtual avatars increasingly use AI-generated gestures to enhance life-likeness, yet evaluations have largely been confined to 2D. Virtual Reality (VR) provides an immersive alternative that may affect how gestures are perceived. This paper presents a comparative evaluation of computer-generated gestures in VR and 2D, examining three models from the 2023 GENEA Challenge. Results show that gestures viewed in VR were rated slightly higher on average, with the strongest effect observed for motion-capture "true movement." While model rankings remained consistent across settings, VR influenced participants' overall perception and offered unique benefits over traditional 2D evaluation.