Page 284 - Socially Intelligent Agents Creating Relationships with Computers and Robots

Chapter 33

EMBODIED CONVERSATIONAL AGENTS
IN E-COMMERCE APPLICATIONS

Helen McBreen
Centre for Communication Interface Research, The University of Edinburgh

Abstract This section discusses an empirical evaluation of 3D embodied conversational
agents, in three interactive VRML e-commerce environments: a cinema box-
office, a travel agency and a bank. Results showed participants enjoyed speak-
ing to the agents and expressed a desire for agents in the cinema to be informally
dressed but those in the bank to be formally dressed. Qualitative results sug-
gested that participants found it difficult to assign a degree of trust to the agents
in the banking application.

1. Introduction
The emerging interest in embodied conversational agents (ECA’s) coupled
with the growing evidence [1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12] that embodiment can enhance
user interface design has fuelled a challenging research agenda and developing
embodied agents that behave socially in an interaction has become the princi-
pal goal for many interdisciplinary researchers involved with the development
of intelligent communicative systems. Virtual Reality Modelling Language
(VRML) is an effective tool to describe 3D environments increasing the in-
formation density for the user and adding additional layers of perception and
meaning to the experience [5]. Inhabiting 3D environments with 3D embodied
agents and endowing these agents with conversational capabilities can promote
an effective social interaction. Cassell et al [6] have explored the affordances
of embodiment and showed that an ECA can improve the interaction and the
experience for the user because the agent “enables the use of certain commu-
nication protocols in face-to-face conversation which provide for a more rich
and robust channel of communication than is afforded by any other medium
available today”.
Hayes-Roth [7] has proposed that the Internet should be inhabited with
smart interactive characters that can engage users with social communication