Citation
López-Mencía, Beatriz and Hernández-Trapote, Álvaro and Pardo, David and Santos, Raul and Rodríguez Gancedo, María del Carmen
(2008).
ECA gesture strategies for robust SLDSs.
In: "The AISB Symposium on Multimodal Output Generation (MOG 2008)", 03/04/2008-04/04/2008, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK. ISBN 1-902956-69-9. pp. 1-9.
Abstract
This paper explores the use of embodied conversational agents (ECAs) to improve interaction with spoken language dialogue systems (SLDSs). For this purpose we have identified typical interaction problems with SLDSs and associated with each of them a particular ECA gesture or behaviour. User tests were carried out dividing the test users into two groups, each facing a different interaction metaphor (one with an ECA in the interface, and the other implemented only with voice). Our results suggest user frustration is lower when an ECA is present in the interface, and the dialogue flows more smoothly, partly due to the fact that users are better able to tell when they are expected to speak and whether the system has heard and understood. The users’ overall perceptions regarding the system were also affected, and interaction seems to be more enjoyable with an ECA than without it.
