Tunnel operator training with a conversational agent-assistant

A tunnel operator monitors and regulates the flow of traffic inside a tunnel. Tunnel operators need to train in a simulator regularly in order to maintain proficiency in handling incident situations. During quiet working hours, the operator has enough time for training. But generally at that time no instructor or colleague operators are present to provide instruction, advises, and feedback. As a solution, we have designed an automated training system. The system employs a conversational agent which supports the operator's situation assessment tasks. The agent exhibits peer behavior which is unobtrusively directed by didactic strategies. In this paper we present the design, development and application of the agent. © 2009 Springer