An affective personality for an embodied conversational agent

Curtin Universitys Embodied Conversational Agents (ECA) combine an MPEG-4 compliant Facial Animation Engine (FAE), a Text To Emotional Speech Synthesiser (TTES), and a multi-modal Dialogue Manager (DM), that accesses a Knowledge Base (KB) and outputs Virtual Human Markup Language (VHML) text which drives the TTES and FAE. A user enters a question and an animated ECA responds with a believable and affective voice and actions. However, this response to the user is normally marked up in VHML by the KB developer to produce the required facial gestures and emotional display. A real person does not react by fixed rules but on personality, beliefs, previous experiences, and training. This thesis details the design, implementation and pilot study evaluation of an Affective Personality Model for an ECA. The thesis discusses the Email Agent system that informs a user when they have email. The system, built in Curtins ECA environment, has personality traits of Friendliness, Extraversion and Neuroticism. A small group of participants evaluated the Email Agent system to determine the effectiveness of the implemented personality system. An analysis of the qualitative and quantitative results from questionnaires is presented

Interim research assessment 2003-2005 - Computer Science

This report primarily serves as a source of information for the 2007 Interim Research Assessment Committee for Computer Science at the three technical universities in the Netherlands. The report also provides information for others interested in our research activities

Special issue on subtle expressivity for characters and robots (editorial)

No abstract

Proceedings from NordiCHI 2008 Workshop Sunday October 19, 2008

This paper raises themes that are seen as some of the challenges facing the emerging practice and research field of Human Work Interaction Design. The paper has its offset in the discussions and writings that have been dominant within the IFIP Working Group on Human Work Interaction Design (name HWID) through the last two and half years since the commencement of this Working Group. The paper thus provides an introduction to the theory and empirical evidence that lie behind the combination of empirical work studies and interaction design. It also recommends key topics for future research in Human Work Interaction Design