WPI Research is the research magazine of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. It contains news and features about graduate research in the arts and sciences, business, and engineering, along with notes about new grants, books, and faculty achievements.
Issue link: http://wpiresearch.epubxp.com/i/90696
VIDEO EXTRA Professors Sidner and Rich on "always on" agents. She has been a leader in demonstrating the success of "active learning"—that is, allowing robots to ask their users for help when input is needed. For example, when straight- ening up a room, the robot might ask the user to match labels such as "book" or "magazine" to objects it sees in the room, thus expanding its library for object recognition. To select what features to consider, the robot could ask if factors such as color or size are relevant to the task at hand. A Virtual Home Companion What changes when an intelligent virtual agent is installed in your home and on, continuously, for months at a time? To start with, you will expect it to interact differently with you on the day it arrives, when it is still a stranger, than on the 10th day, when it has become an acquaintance, and on the 30th day, when it may be transforming into a companion. With a four-year, $1.8 million award from the National Science Foundation, Candace Sidner, research professor of computer science, is attempting to answer this question in the context of older adults who live alone. Working with Charles Rich, professor of computer science, and Timothy Bickmore, head of the Relational Agents Group at North- eastern University, Sidner is developing a virtual agent that can provide social support and promote healthy behaviors. "We want this technology to broaden people's lives," she says. "Our aim is to increase human contact, not to replace it." The virtual agent, named Karen, appears as an animat- ed face on a touchscreen computer. Using computer vision and infrared motion detection, Karen can notice when someone walks into the room or approaches her and then strike up a conversation using a computer-generated voice. Her human host can talk to her by selecting items from a menu on the touchscreen. These conversations can range from simple chit-chat about the weather, to friendly banter while playing a social game of cards, to more serious discussions about exercise [8] Dealing Cards…and a Little Friendly Advice In her role as companion, the virtual agent Karen can emulate the very human skill of using simple chit-chat as a vehicle for transitioning to more serious conversa- tions. In this example, she brings up exercise while playing rummy. Karen's words are spoken; the human responds by making selections on a touchscreen. I've got terrible cards! Not too bad Good move! Here's mine. Give me a minute >Ğƚ'Ɛ ƐƚŽƉ ĂŌĞƌ ƚŚŝƐ ƌŽƵŶĚ By the way, I have been thinking about a walking buddy for you. tŚĂƚ'Ɛ ƚŚĂƚ? / ĚŽŶ'ƚ ǁĂŶƚ ƚŽ ƚĂůŬ ĂďŽƵƚ ŝƚ ƌŝŐŚƚ ŶŽǁ A walking buddy is someone you go walking with regularly. It's more fun than walking alone. Sounds complicated ,Žǁ ĚŽ / ŐĞƚ ŽŶĞ? >Ğƚ'Ɛ ũƵƐƚ ƉůĂLJ ĐĂƌĚƐ wpi.edu/+research