Embodied agents play an increasingly important role in cognitive interaction technology. The two main types of embodied agents are virtual humans inhabiting simulated environments and humanoid robots ...inhabiting the real world. So far research on embodied communicative agents has mainly explored their potential for practical applications. However, the design of communicative artificial agents can also be of great heuristic value for the scientific study of communication. It allows researchers to isolate, implement, and test essential properties of inter-agent communications in operational models. Modeling communication with robots and virtual humans thus involves the vision of using communicative machines as research tools. Artificial systems that reproduce certain aspects of natural, multimodal communication help to elucidate the internal mechanisms that give rise to different aspects of communication. In short, constructing embodied agents who are able to communicate may help us to understand the principles of human communication. As a comprehensive theme, "Embodied Communication in Humans and Machines" was taken up by an international research group hosted by Bielefeld University's Center for Interdisciplinary Research (ZiF - Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Forschung) from October 2005 through September 2006. The overarching goal of this research year was to develop an integrated perspective of embodiment in communication, establishing bridges between lower-level, sensorimotor functions and a range of higher-level, communicative functions involving language and bodily action. The present volume grew out of a workshop that took place during April 5-8, 2006 at the ZiF as a part of the research year on embodied communication.
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FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
We report on an analysis of feedback behavior in an Active Listening Corpus as produced verbally, visually (head movement) and bimodally. The behavior is modeled in an embodied conversational agent ...and displayed in a conversation with a real human to human participants for perceptual evaluation. Five strategies for the timing of backchannels are compared: copying the timing of the original human listener, producing backchannels at randomly selected times, producing backchannels according to high level timing distributions relative to the interlocutor's utterance and pauses, or according to local entrainment to the interlocutors' vowels, or according to both. Human observers judge that models with global timing distributions miss less opportunities for backchanneling than random timing.
Unsere Augen sind für die Wahrnehmung unserer Umwelt wichtig
und geben gleichzeitig wertvolle Informationen über unsere
Aufmerksamkeit und damit unsere Denkprozesse preis. Wir Menschen
nutzen dies ...ganz natürlich in der alltäglichen Kommunikation. Mit
einer echtzeitfähigen Blickbewegungsmessung ausgestattet können
auch technische Systeme den Nutzern wichtige Informationen von den
Augen ablesen. Der Artikel beschreibt verschiedene Ansätze wie in
der Konstruktion, der Instruktion von Robotern oder der Medizin
Blickbewegungen nutzbringend eingesetzt werden können.
We use our eyes to perceive our everyday environment. In doing
so, we also reveal our current focus of attention and thus allow
others to draw insights regarding our internal cognition
processes. We humans make use of this dual function of the eyes
quite naturally in everyday communication. Using realtime eye
tracking, technical systems can learn to read relevant information
from their users' eyes. This article describes approaches to make
use of gaze information in construction tasks, the instruction of
robots or in medical applications.
Zusammenfassung
Unsere Augen sind für die Wahrnehmung unserer Umwelt wichtig
und geben gleichzeitig wertvolle Informationen über unsere
Aufmerksamkeit und damit unsere Denkprozesse preis. Wir ...Menschen
nutzen dies ganz natürlich in der alltäglichen Kommunikation. Mit
einer echtzeitfähigen Blickbewegungsmessung ausgestattet können
auch technische Systeme den Nutzern wichtige Informationen von den
Augen ablesen. Der Artikel beschreibt verschiedene Ansätze wie in
der Konstruktion, der Instruktion von Robotern oder der Medizin
Blickbewegungen nutzbringend eingesetzt werden können.
Abstract
We use our eyes to perceive our everyday environment. In doing
so, we also reveal our current focus of attention and thus allow
others to draw insights regarding our internal cognition
processes. We humans make use of this dual function of the eyes
quite naturally in everyday communication. Using realtime eye
tracking, technical systems can learn to read relevant information
from their users' eyes. This article describes approaches to make
use of gaze information in construction tasks, the instruction of
robots or in medical applications.
This paper describes an application of the conversational agent Max in a real-world setting. The agent is employed as guide in a public computer museum, where he engages with visitors in natural ...face-to-face communication, provides them with information about the museum or the exhibition, and conducts natural small talk conversations. The design of the system is described with a focus on how the conversational behavior is achieved. Logfiles from interactions between Max and museum visitors were analyzed for the kinds of dialogue people are willing to have with Max. Results indicate that Max engages people in interactions where they are likely to use human-like communication strategies, suggesting the attribution of sociality to the agent.
Full text
Available for:
FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
The 17 articles in this state-of-the-art survey address artificial intelligence research on communicative agents and provide an interdisciplinary perspective on the topic.
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